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Period: 1095 to 1291
Crusades
A series of holy wars committed by Christians. The Crusades were fought in response to Muslim expansion across western Europe. The goals of the war for the Christians were to reclaim the land of Palestine and to conquer pagan areas. Crusading declined during the Protestant Reformation. It was directly related to the fall of the papacy. -
Period: 1185 to
Era of the Samurai
Samurai, also known as bushi, were warriors of old Japan. They created the highest military ruling class. They followed a strict code called bushido, and were considered to be upper class citizens. They possessed the power to execute commoners if they felt disrespected by them. Samurai, although having made up less than 10% of the Japanese population, are integral in their culture and are channeled today by martial arts classes and ceremonies. -
Period: 1300 to
Renaissance Begins
A series of philosophical, scientific, and artistic reforms that changed the way people lived all across Europe. The Renaissance began in south Italy and moved north due to technological advancements of the time. People began exploring language and becoming more literate due to the printing press. People studied art and philosophy based on the Greeks. The humanist way of thinking spread, focusing on the individual and not the group. -
Period: 1337 to 1453
Hundred Years' War
A struggle between the succession of the French throne between France and England. Constantly on and off, the war lasted for about 116 years. Edward III of England felt that he had a legitimate claimant to the French throne post Charles IV's death, and this sparked conflicts over true royal succession. The turning point of the war was the siege of Orleans, saved by Joan d'Arc's relief force. -
1346
The Black Death Begins in Europe
For seven years, a plague spread across Europe and decimated 60% of the European population. The disease was called bubonic plague, caused by fleas carrying disease while traveling by rat. The disease was characterized by boils protruding from the skin and bursting, causing the victim to bleed out and die. As well as this, pneumonic plague was another disease people got from the same strain, causing their lungs to liquify inside of them. The plague lasted for seven years, but was destructive. -
May 30, 1431
Joan d'Arc Burned at the Stake
Joan d'Arc was nineteen when she was burned at the stake for her crimes against the nation of England. She successfully led a peace riot during the siege of Orlèans and is credited with saving the city. Joan was accused and found guilty of heresy, and was sentenced to death by the stake. She, however, did not die of being burnt, but by smoke inhalation. This caused the cardinal of Winchester to actually order her to be burnt a second time. -
1440
Johannes Gutenberg Completes the Printing Press
The printing press had already been invented before this, by the Chinese, but Europeans take credit for movable type printing. By adapting a wine press, Gutenberg created the idea of moving a circle with type on it to change the typing. The invention of the printing press was revolutionary because it caused books to be mass printed. People were becoming more literate because of this. The first book printed in mass was a version of the Bible in German. -
May 29, 1453
The Fall of Constantinople
Ottoman Sultan Mehmed was only twenty one when he captured the capital of the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople. This city was a huge source of trade, and its capture marked the end of the Byzantine Empire. The Ottomans renamed it Istanbul, and remolded it with Islamic culture, due to the Muslim Ottomans who had taken it. -
Nov 1, 1478
Start of the Spanish Inquisition
Established by Queen Isabella I of Castille and King Ferdinand II of Aragon. The Inquisition was meant to spread the ideas and the message of Catholicism and to drive out Muslims and Jewish people to reclaim the holy land of Israel, the home of Jesus of Nazareth. It was meant to identify heretics and to force them to convert to Catholicism for a supremely Catholic Europe. -
Period: 1492 to 1520
The Columbian Exchange
After Columbus' 1492 expedition to the Americas, an exchange began between the Europeans and the natives they encountered. The New World provided the Europeans with food and livestock such as maize, potatoes, tomatoes, and llamas. The Old World provided the natives with citrus, apples, horses, coffee, and most importantly, disease. Disease wiped out 120 million natives and made European conquer easier and more efficient. -
Oct 12, 1492
Christopher Columbus Lands in the New World
In 1492, Columbus lands in the Bahamas believing it to be India. He set sail from Spain two months prior having King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella's approval to go seek out a new trade route to Asia. While on what we now call the West Indies, Columbus encounters natives and manages to give cause for plagues to decimate native tribes due to the introduction of European diseases to people who had never encountered these illnesses before. He wasn't a good guy. -
Period: 1500 to
Slave Trade
The Triangular Trade, was a form of trade between slaves, luxury items, and raw materials across Europe, the Americas, and Africa. Europeans would ship finished goods to trade for slaves, who would sail to America and harvest raw materials, which would then go to Europe to be finished into luxury items. This was a booming and terrible trade until 1807 when Americans abolished the trade, but still allowed national slavery as it was a huge part of their bloody and horrific economy. -
1503
The Mona Lisa is Completed
The date of this valuable painting's completion is unknown, though it is assumed to have been completed sometime between 1503 and 1506. The painting is the most valuable painting in the world, and it has been located in the Louvre museum since 1804. It's believed that da Vinci was painting Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo, as the painting was also known as la Gioconda. The Italian is pronounced the Monna Lisa, as 'Monna' is a contraction of 'Mi donna', or 'My lady'. -
1508
Michelangelo Begins the Sistine Chapel
Made of gold and plaster, the high arching ceilings of the Sistine Chapel had begun being painted by Michelangelo in 1508. It is currently one of the most famous interior spaces in the world. Michelangelo was commissioned by the Catholic church to paint nine central scenes from the Book of Genesis. The most central painting on the ceiling is The Creation of Adam. The ceiling took four years for Michelangelo to finish painting, and he had to paint these images upside down. -
Period: Apr 21, 1509 to Jan 28, 1547
The Reign of Henry VIII
King Henry VIII is the man who founded the Anglican church in England. His goal of the church was to allow him to divorce his wife, because Catherine of Aragorn could not bear him a son. (She bore him Mary I.) After his divorce from Catherine, he married Anne Boleyn who bore him Elizabeth I, and was executed for her behaviors. He finally had Edward VI, his first son, coronated as king at nine years old, and was the first monarch to be raised a Protestant. -
1513
Machiavelli's "The Prince"
The novel, though written in 1513, was only published after Machiavelli's death in 1532. The novel was about the crafty, manipulative, and cruel ways a prince could seize and maintain power over his people. The novel opens with a note to Lorenzo de Medici, claiming to want to be in the prince's favor by offering him knowledge. The Medicis loved the novel and applied some of its techniques. -
Oct 31, 1517
Martin Luther's 95 Theses
Martin Luther nailed a scroll written in Latin to the door of a church. The scroll was a list. It was a list of things the Catholic church had been doing wrong and needed to fix. This scroll, called the 95 Theses, became a wildly popular idea, and people began to take heart to Martin Luther's ideas and to follow him. This launched the Protestant Reformation. -
1519
Cortes Conquers the Aztecs
Another not great guy, Hernan Cortes was a Spanish conquistador who massacred the Aztec people in the name of Spain and God. He did this through the use of guns and disease, and decimated Aztec populations to conquer new territory instead of trying to make peace with an indigenous people and to modernize them. He manipulated a Nahua woman, La Malinche, into translating for him and turning Aztecs against themselves, eventually even killing the Aztec king Moctezuma II. -
Period: 1545 to
The Counter Reformation
A series of methods, councils, and acts to reform the Catholic church and to ward off the Protestant Reformation. When people began questioning the Catholic church, the church responded unkindly. However, the Council of Trent (1545-1563) opened up the gates to Catholic reform. The reform focused on reactionary defense on Catholic sacrament, ecclesiastical reconfiguration, religious order, spiritual movement, and political dimension. -
Period: Nov 17, 1558 to
Queen Elizabeth Tudor I's Reign
Queen Elizabeth Tudor I was born to Lady Anne Bolelyn and King Henry Tudor VIII on September 7, 1533. She was the younger half sister of Catholic Mary Tudor I and the older half sister of Edward Tudor VI. After Edward took the throne and died at sixteen, Mary ascended and became known as Bloody Mary for her crimes against Protestants. Eventually, Elizabeth rose to power and was known for her defeating the Spanish Armada six times, and allowing religious dominance in Protestants. -
The Death of William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare is one of the most widely known playwrights and poets in history. He was known for his sonnets and his tragedies, such as Hamlet and Macbeth. A humanist, he married Anne Hathaway, a woman eight years older than him, and had children and a family. He dies of illness, on his 52nd birthday. -
Lord George Macartney Is Expelled
Lord George Macartney, recently having been made an earl for the British, led the Macartney embassy to Beijing in 1792. This was the first envoy between Britain and China. When Lord George Macartney refused to kowtow before the emperor — a ritualistic sign of utmost respect — tensions started to arise. Due to conflicting world views, the embassy returned to England with no further accommodations. This marks the only time that Britain and China could have had any relationship. -
Period: to
The Opium Wars
Due to Chinese-British trading going sour, the British devised a plan. They introduced the east to the drug opium, which caused the Chinese to become addicted and to buy mass amounts. Officials became concerned at the draining of silver from their economy and the increasing number of addicts. So, they created a treaty with England concerning trade that was not adhered to, until eventually trade was stopped in 1860.
