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Feb 28, 1347
Bubonic Plague begins
The Bubonic plague ruined Europe's population during the dark ages. It created fear and panic amoung citizens and severely depleted the workforce. -
Jan 1, 1350
Renaissance Begins
The Renaissance was an intellectual and creative movement. -
Jan 1, 1377
Brunelleschi creates linear perspective
Brunelleschi is famous for two panel paintings illustrating geometric optical linear perspective. -
Jan 1, 1394
Prince Henry sponsors Portuguese Explorers
Henry the Navigator, Portuguese prince noted for his patronage of voyages of discovery among the Madeira Islands and along the western coast of Africa. -
May 28, 1429
Joan of Arc and the Siege of Orleans
Between October 1428 and May 1429, during the Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453), the city of Orleans, France, was besieged by English forces. On May 8, 1429, Joan of Arc (1412-31), a teenage French peasant, successfully led a French force to break the siege. -
Jan 1, 1440
Johann Gutenberg invents the printing press
Gutenberg's invention was profoundly important. It launched a revolution in printing. -
Aug 1, 1464
Cosimo de Medici Dies
Cosimo died on August first, 1464 he was the first of the Medici political dynasty, de facto rulers of Florence during much of the Italian Renaissance; also known as "Cosimo 'the Elder'" and "Cosimo Pater Patriae" (Latin: 'father of the nation'). -
Nov 1, 1478
The Spanish Inquisition Begins
The Spanish Inquisition was used for both political and religious reasons. It was one of the most deadly inquistions in history, it was designed to take out all non Catholics and the Jews and Muslims. -
Jan 1, 1480
Sandro Botticelli paints Birth of Venus
The Birth of Venus is a painting by Sandro Botticelli generally thought to have been painted in the mid 1480s. -
Jan 1, 1492
Columbus Discovers America
The discovery of America would lead to colonization of them a hundred years later. -
Jan 1, 1492
Columbian Exchange
The Columbian Exchange was the widespread transfer of animals, plants, culture, human populations, technology, and ideas between the American and Afro-Eurasian hemispheres in the 15th and 16th centuries. -
Oct 12, 1492
Christopher Columbus discovers the Caribbean Islands
Christopher Columbus made landfall on a small island in the Caribbean. His historic voyage ignited the age of exploration and cross-Atlantic expansion by European settlers. -
May 20, 1498
Vasco da Gama reaches India
Sailing for the Portuguese crown, Vasco da Gama reached Calicut, India. Having successfully sailed around the southern tip of Africa, da Gama had pioneered a sea route from Europe to Asia that bypassed the Muslim nations that controlled the overland spice trade. -
Jan 1, 1500
Spanish Settlers and Missionaries
A flood of Spanish settlers and missionaries followed the conquisdators to Spain's new empire. Wherever they went,they established colonies, claiming the land and its people for their King and Church. -
Jan 1, 1510
Raphael paints The School of Athens
One of the most famous frescoes by the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael. It was painted as a part of Raphael's commission to decorate with frescoes the rooms now known as the Stanze di Raffaello. -
Oct 31, 1517
Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses
The Ninety-Five Theses were written by Martin Luther and are widely regarded as the initial catalyst for the Protestant Reformation. -
Jan 1, 1520
Martin Luther’s Three Treatises
Martin Luther’s three treatises to the German people in 1520 served as a fervent call to reformation of the church, influencing the Protestant movement in Germany and beyond for years to come. -
Jan 1, 1521
Hernan Cortes Conqueres the Aztecs
Hernan Cortés invaded Mexico in 1519 and conquered the Aztec Empire. Hernán Cortés is one of the most well-known Spanish conquistadors. -
Jan 1, 1522
Publication of Luther’s Translation of the New Testament
Luther published the first edition of his translation of the New Testament. He had begun that during his stay at the Wartburg. -
Oct 4, 1529
The Marburg Colloquy
The Marburg Colloquy was a meeting at Marburg Castle, Marburg, Hesse, Germany which attempted to solve a disputation between Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingli over the Real Presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper. -
Jan 1, 1534
The Act of Supremacy
The first Act of Supremacy was legislation in 1534 that granted King Henry VIII of England Royal Supremacy, which means that he was declared the supreme head of the Church of England. -
Jan 1, 1545
The Council of Trent
The Council of Trent, held between 1545 and 1563 in Trento (Trent) and Bologna, northern Italy, was one of the Roman Catholic Church's most important ecumenical councils. -
Jan 1, 1550
Commercial Revolution
The Commercial Revolution was a period of European economic expansion, colonialism, and mercantilism which lasted from approximately the late 13th century until the early 18th century. It was succeeded in the mid-18th century by the Industrial Revolution. -
Sep 25, 1555
The Peace of Augsburg
The Peace of Augsburg, was a treaty between Charles V and the forces of the Schmalkaldic League, an alliance of Lutheran princes, at the imperial city of Augsburg, now in present-day Bavaria, Germany. -
Jan 1, 1559
Calvin’s Institutes
John Calvin’s systematic theology The Institutes of the Christian Religion formed the basis for the adoption of Reformed theology in Europe and America. His theology is important because it was a visionary exposition of theology, whereas the other Reformers’ theologies were reactionary in nature, being forged in the midst of conflict. -
Jan 1, 1572
St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre
The St. Bartholomew's Day massacre in 1572 was a targeted group of assassinations, followed by a wave of Catholic mob violence, both directed against the Huguenots (French Calvinist Protestants), during the French Wars of Religion -
The Edict of Nantes
This event was one of the most hopeful signs that the Reformation would eventually end with different religious groups coexisting peacefully. This innovative act of tolerance formed the basis for the modern-day secular society of freedom of religion. -
English Colonies and Pilgrims
In the 1600's, England began concentrating on establishing colonies along the Eastern seaboard.Also, in 1620 the Pilgrims, or English Protestants who rejected the Church of England, landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts. -
Triangular Trade
The best-known triangular trading system is the transatlantic slave trade, that operated from the late 16th to early 19th centuries, carrying slaves, cash crops, and manufactured goods between West Africa. -
Treaty of Paris
Congress ratified preliminary articles of peace ending the Revolutionary War with Great Britain on April 15, 1783. On September 3, 1783, the Treaty of Paris was signed, bringing the Revolutionary War to its final conclusion.