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Aug 3, 1492
Christopher Columbus Set Sail
Christopher Columbus is commissioned by the Spanish monarchs to find an alternate route to India, and sets sail on the ocean blue on this date. -
Period: Jan 1, 1520 to Dec 31, 1566
Ottoman Golden Age under Suleyman I
During Suleyman's reign, the Ottoman Empire reached new heights of military and political power and art. The military conquered Hungary, had control from Iraq to the Safavids in Iran, and captured North African ports. There were also advances in artistic fields, specifically calligraphy, manuscript painting, textiles, and ceramics. Public buildings attracted a lot of attention because of their outstanding architecture. Suleyman assigned repairments and additions to historical monuments. -
Period: Jan 1, 1570 to
Mehmet Koprulu Stops Decline of Ottoman Government
Mehmet Koprulu was the most significant Ottoman figure of the 17th century for halting the decline of their government because of a fight for power. He got rid of all corruption from the imperial government and went back to the old practice of local governments to prevent battles over power. He also attempted to protect Ottoman land from European expansion. -
Oct 7, 1571
The Battle of Lepanto
The Ottoman empire had become a problem to Spanish by the 1560s. To fend of the Turks, the pope St. Pius V created the Holy League-an alliance between every Christian territory that had a coast on the Mediterranean- which in total had 300 ships, 50,000 soldiers, and 4,500 horses.
After the Turks laid siege to Cyprus-then Venetian territory- the Holy League attacked and crushed the opposition, losing only 20 vessels to the Turks’ 210 before they surrendered the very same day. -
Period: to
The Spanish Armada
During July of 1588, the Spanish Armada-a massive fleet of "28 newly-constructed warships out a total of 123 vessels. 8,000 sailors. 18,000 soldiers. 1,000 iron guns. 1,500 brass guns"-set sail for England. It was a catastrophe, and on September 13, 1588, they returned home with only a quarter of their men and half their ships. -
Period: to
Portuguese Independence From Spain
The Iberian Union is the joint union of Portugal and Spain.Portugal was being taxed more and their fortresses were not being protected.Because of Spain’s constant partake in warfare,their economy was not doing well, and Portugal decided to use that time to rebel against Spain.Portuguese nobles murdered a Spanish government leader.Portugal elected John IV as their King.Spain couldn’t fund fighting the rebellion.Portugal signed the Treaty of Lisbon,and Portugal became its own country. -
Period: to
War of the Spanish Succession
When King Charles II,he gave power to his grandson, Philip V, who was already in line for the French crown.Europe became divided, France and Bourbon Spain on one side, who believed Philip was the rightful King. England and the Dutch Republic on the other, who believed that Charles III should be King. After many battles, the Treaty of Utrecht was signed which ended the wars in 1713. -
Battle of the Pyramids
Egypt was an Ottoman territory, although governed by the Mamluks, the descendants of enslaved soldiers who had climbed the ranks of the Ottoman military. In this battle, Napoleon arranged his army into five “squares”; soldiers in the middle of the formation battled charging Egyptian forces while the wings surrounded them. 6,000 Egyptians died in the Battle of the Pyramids, which was merely the beginning of the fight against the French occupation of Egypt. -
Muhammad Ali Becomes Viceroy of Egypt
Muhammad Ali established reforms in Egypt that began its reconstruction and modernization, including removing the Mamluks from power, seizing lands owned by the landowning class, placing restrictions on the merchant class, and suppressing peasant rebellions.
However, Muhammad Ali fell terribly short when it came to allowing his subjects to have input on his decisions, and used much of his resources to ensure his family would become the dynastic rulers of Egypt.
