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Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press c. 1450 to reduce the cost of books, spread knowledge, and make literature more accessible. The Gutenberg Bible was the first thing to be widespread across Western Europe using the printing press. -
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The Ottoman Empire had superior plans and technology when fighting against the Byzantine Empire leading to its fall. The Ottoman Empire slowly tried to gain power of Eastern Europe after this. -
The Tudor Dynasty began with Henry VII defeating Richard III and ending with Elizabeth the I. It allowed for political transformation and English Reformation.
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Sponsored by Spain, Christopher Columbus took three ships (the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María) to find a westward route to Asia but instead traveled to the Americas. This was the beginning of colonization in the Americas. -
King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain issued the Alhambra Decree in 1492 to kick out the Jews or force them to convert to Catholicism in Spain. -
Spain was making Catholic kingdoms slowly reclaim territories from Muslim rule on the Iberian Peninsula. Granada surrendered to the Catholic monarchs, effectively ending the Reconquista.
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Michelangelo was tasked to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel by Pope Julius II which took him four years to do. He was supposed to just do a simple painting but he decided to do the entire ceiling instead which is why it took so long. -
A religious and political movement caused by the 95 Theses to reform the Roman Catholic Church. -
Martin Luther was a German priest and theologian. He was most famous for his 95 Theses which challenged the practices of the Catholic Church, most notably the sale of indulgences. This sparked the Protestant Reformation. -
Luther was summoned to the Diet of Worms to recant his writing. He refused to recant stating that he was bound by the Scriptures he quoted and that his conscience was captive to the word of God. -
5 years after Machiavelli died The Prince was published, which caused a great deal of controversy because of its amoral and ruthless advice. The Catholic Church proceeded to condemn and then ban the book due to its content. -
The Anglican Church (The Church of England) started in 1534 with The Act of Supremacy creating a national church independent of the Pope. -
An English Parliament Act that declared King Henry VIII the Supreme Head of the Church of England. A key event in the English Reformation due to King Henry VIII's desire to annul his marriage to Catherine of Anagon and to control the Church's wealth and influence within his kingdom. -
A book that proposed a heliocentric model of the solar system which placed the Sun at its center rather than the Earth stating that Earth was also a planet. This was groundbreaking because most thought that Earth was the stationary center of the universe, not a planet before this was published. -
The Council of Trent was the Catholic Reformation's pivotal ecumenical council that addressed the Protestant Reformation by reaffirming Catholic doctrines. It reformed indulgences and clerical corruption and established new educational standards for priests by creating seminaries.
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The Peace of Augsburg recognized "cuius regio, eius religio" which allowed a prince to decide the official religion of their territory, ending conflicts between Lutheran and Catholic states in Germany. -
A treaty that ended conflict between Lutherans and Catholics by establishing the principle of cuius regio, eius religio (whose realm, his religion). It allowed rulers to determine the official religion of their territory. -
A wave of targeted assassinations and mob violence against French Calvinist Protestants in France, following the marriage of Margaret of Valois to Henry of Navarre. Caused by the failed assassination attempt on Admiral Gaspard de Coligny. -
The final phase of the French Wars of Religion. A conflict between King Henry III, the Catholic League leader Henry I, Duke of Guise, and the Huguenot heir, Henry of Navarre (later Henry IV)
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A defeat of the Spanish Armada, culminating in the Battle of Gravelines by the English, ended Spain's invasion attempt due to English tactical superiority, use of fire ships, and the Armada's difficult journey around Britain where it was battered with storms. The English ships were built for battle while the Spanish ships were built for boarding which played a key factor in the defeat of the Spanish Armada. -
In 1588, Philip II of Spain launched the Spanish Armada to invade England and overthrow the Protestant Queen Elizabeth I. The invasion failed after the smaller, faster English fleet defeated the Armada, which was then further battered by storms as it tried to return to Spain. This event was a major victory for England, significantly boosting national pride and marking a turning point in the Anglo-Spanish War. Phillip's fleet was massive which is why it was such a great victory for the English. -
King Henry IV issued the Edict of Nantes effectively granting substantial religious and civil rights to French Protestants, bringing a temporary end to decades of civil and religious warfare. It established limited religious tolerance, allowed Huguenots to practice their faith in specified areas, granted them civil rights and eligibility for public office, and aimed to unify the kingdom under royal authority by separating civil and religious unity.