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Period: Apr 24, 1394 to Apr 24, 1460
Henry the Navigator
Junior Prince of the Kingdom of Portugal.
Responsible for the early development of European exploration and maritime trade with other continents.
Founder of the Aviz dynasty.
Fascinated with Africa, helped Gil Eanes, the commander of one of Henry's expeditions, become the first European known to pass Cape Bojador in 1434. -
Period: Apr 24, 1450 to Apr 24, 1506
Christopher Columbus
Originally from the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy.
Not the first to reach the Americas, but began European colonization of the Americas.
Didn't intend to reach the Americas, instead he attempted to reach Asia by circumnavigating the globe.
There is no known authentic portrait of Columbus, thus his actual physical appearance is unknown. -
Period: Apr 24, 1469 to Apr 24, 1524
Vasco da Gama
A Portuguese explorer.
Commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India.
Considered one of the most successfulexplorers in the Age of Discovery.
Governor of Portuguese India under the title of Viceroy for a short period of time. -
Period: Apr 24, 1471 to Apr 24, 1541
Francisco Pizarro
Spanish conquistador, conqueror of the Incan Empire.
Founder of Lima, the modern-day capital of the Republic of Peru.
Led the largest fleet that had ever sailed to the New World.
One of the first Europeans to view the Pacific coast of the New World.
Was assassinated by a group of twenty heavily armed supporters of Diego Almagro II. -
Period: Apr 24, 1480 to Apr 24, 1521
Ferdinand Magellan
A Portuguese explorer who served King Charles I of Spain.
Led the first expedition to sail from the Atlantic Ocean into the Pacific Ocean.
The expedition also completed the first circumnavigation of the Earth, although Magellan himself did not complete the entire voyage, as he was killed in the Battle of Mactan in the Philippines.
One of the first explorers to cross all of the meridians of the globe.
Named many things and places, among them the Pacific Ocean. -
Period: Apr 24, 1483 to Apr 24, 1531
Babur
Military adventurer from Central Asia who rose to power at Kabul.
Essentially laid the basis for the Mughal Empire.
Descendant of Timur through his father, and Genghis Khan through his mother.
Responsible for the expansion of Persian cultural influence in the Indian subcontinent. -
Period: Apr 24, 1485 to Apr 24, 1547
Hernán Cortés
Led the expedition of Spanish conquistadors that led to the fall of the Aztec Empire.
Began the first phase of the Spanish colonization of the Americas.
Conquered the majority of Mexico in the name of Spain.
Not much is personally known about Cortés, due to lack of reliable information. -
Apr 24, 1492
Creation of New World Colonies
Widely atributted to have begun with Columbus' expedition to the New World.
Actually preceded by Vikings in the 11th century.
The first explorations and conquests were made by the Spanish and the Portuguese.
European colonization led to the decimation of the native population, leading to the destruction of many civilizations. -
Apr 24, 1492
Triangle Trade
A historical term indicating trade among three ports or regions.
Transatlantic slave trade carried slaves, cash crops, and manufactured goods between West Africa, Caribbean/American colonies and the Europe
Ex. Sugar Trade: Sugar to Europe, distilled to rum, Rum to Africa, traded for slaves, Slaves to America, used to attain more sugar.
A method for rectifying trade imbalances between regions. -
Apr 24, 1492
Columbian Exchange
Widespread exchange of animals, plants, culture, human populations (including slaves), communicable diseases, and ideas between the Old World and New World.
Christopher Columbus' first voyage to the Americas in 1492 began the contact between the Old and the New Worlds, hence the name "Columbian" Exchange.
Greatly affected almost every society on Earth.
Led to the death of hundreds of thousands of native peoples, but also led to the widespread development of important crops. -
Period: Apr 24, 1501 to
Safavid Empire
One of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran.
Ruled one of the greatest Persian empires since the Muslim conquest of Persia.
Established the Twelver school of Shi'a Islam as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turning points in Muslim history.
They spread Shi'a Islam in major parts of the Caucasus and West Asia. -
Period: Apr 24, 1517 to
The Protestant Reformation
The European Christian reform movement that established Protestantism as a constituent branch of contemporary Christianity.
Led by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants.
Began as an attempt to reform the Catholic Church, by priests who opposed what they perceived as false doctrines and ecclesiastic malpractice — sale of indulgences or simony.
Concluded in 1648 with the Treaty of Westphalia that ended years of European religious wars. -
Period: Apr 24, 1526 to
Mughal Empire
An imperial power in South Asia that ruled a large portion of the Indian subcontinent.
Descendants of the Timurids, a dynasty of Turco-Mongol ancestry.
The Empire was marked by a highly centralized administration connecting the different regions.
Declined rapidly, weakened by wars of succession, agrarian crises fueling local revolts, religious intolerance, rise of the Maratha, Durrani, and Sikh empires and British colonialism. -
Period: Apr 24, 1543 to
Scientific Revolution
Began in Europe towards the end of the Renaissance Era: continued through the late 18th century
A period when new ideas laid the foundation of modern science.
Foundation of the Scientific Method.
Responsible for The Enlightenment. -
Period: Apr 24, 1552 to
Matteo Ricci
An Italian Jesuit priest, one of the founding figures of the Jesuit China Mission.
Explained Christianity through Chinese concepts, thus introducing Christianity in a revolutionary way.
Indirectly influenced and helped shape the foundation of the Silhak movement in Korea. -
Period: Apr 24, 1564 to
Galileo Galilei
Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer and philosopher who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution.
Made multiple improvements to the telescope and supported Copernicanism.
"The Father of Modern Science"
Had been considered a heretic by the Spanish Inquisition and had been placed under house arrest for the remainder of his life due to his claims that the Earth was not the center of the universe (and yet again, religion ruins another life). -
Period: to
Tokugawa Shogunate
Feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family.
Also known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo (modern day Tokyo).
Abolished during the Meiji Restoration.
Contained the Golden Years of the Samurai warrior class. -
Period: to
Thirty Years War
One of the most destructive conflicts in European history.
Initially fought largely as a religious conflict between Protestants and Catholics in the Holy Roman Empire.
Took place primarily in Germany.
Naval Warfare reached across to other areas, shaping the colonial formation of future nations. -
Period: to
Qing Dynasty
The last ruling dynasty of China.
Preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China.
Became highly integrated with Chinese culture.
Overthrown following the Xinhai Revolution, when the Empress Dowager Longyu abdicated on behalf of the last emperor, Puyi, on February 12, 1912. -
Period: to
Peter the Great
Carried out a policy of modernization and expansion that transformed the Tsardom of Russia into a 3-billion acre Russian Empire, a major European power.
Seized control of the Baltic Sea from Sweden and gained considerable influence in Central and Eastern Europe.
Founded St. Petersburg,
Led multiple government reforms meant to target and remove corruption that hampered with Russian economic development. -
Period: to
Enlightenment
Era in Western philosophy in which reason was advocated as the primary source for legitimacy and authority.
Developed simultaneously in France, Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Portugal and the American colonies.
Culminated in the Atlantic Revolutions (especially the successful American Revolution).
Less a set of ideas than it was a set of values, not really a school of thought or movement, but rather a simultaneous creation of new ideas. -
Period: to
Tossaint L'Ouverture
Leader of the Haitian Revolution.
Began his military career as a leader of the 1791 slave rebellion in the French colony of Saint Domingue.
Promulgated an autonomist constitution for the colony, with himself as governor for life, but forced to resign.
The Haitian Revolution continued under his lieutenant, Jean-Jacques Dessalines. -
Period: to
French & Indian War
War between Great Britain and France (who had Indian allies) in North America.
Fought primarily along the frontiers between the British colonies from Virginia to Nova Scotia.
A land dispute concerning how much territory British land claims in the Americas actually went.
Effectively kicked the French out of North America. -
Period: to
Catherine the Great
Born in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia.
Reigned as Empress of Russia after the assassination of her husband, Peter III.
Under her direct auspices the Russian Empire expanded, improved its administration, and continued to modernize along Western European lines.
Revitalized Russia, which grew stronger than ever and became recognized as one of the great powers of Europe.
Had mulitple successes in foreign policy and oversaw sometimes brutal reprisals in the wake of rebellion. -
Period: to
Napoleon Bonaparte
A military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.
Became the Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815.
Started the Napoleonic Wars, during which he established hegemony over much of Europe and sought to spread revolutionary ideals.
Born in Corinsca and of Italian lineage. -
Period: to
Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette
Lead royal monarchs at the time of the French Revolution (King Louis, and Queen Marie Antoinette).
Both executed by guillotine after being charged with high treason by the people of France.
Louis XVI was the only king of France to be executed.
Despite popular belief, there is no actual proof that Marie Antoinette ever said the phrase "Let them eat cake". -
Period: to
American Revolution
Based off of Enlightenment ideaologies.
Inspired the French Revolution.
First Atlantic Revolution.
Marked the beginning of an age of genuine democracy. -
Storming of the Bastille
Occurred in Paris on the morning of July 14, 1789.
A medieval fortress and prison in Paris that represented royal authority in the centre of Paris. Only contained seven inmates at the time of its storming, but was still the flashpoint of the French Revolution.
Led by a group of frenzied demonstrators.
Had been stormed in order to procure ammunition, powder, and weapons. -
Declaration of the Rights of Man
A fundamental document of the French Revolution, defining the individual and collective rights of all the estates of the realm as universal.
Based off of the American Bill of Rights.
A precursor document to international human rights instruments.
Prepared and proposed by the Marquis de Lafayette. -
Period: to
French Revolution
The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years.
Inspired by the American Revolution.
The growth of republics and liberal democracies, the spread of secularism, the development of modern ideologies and the invention of total war all mark their birth during the Revolution.
The last of the Atlantic Revolutions. -
Period: to
Haitian Revolution
Led to the founding of the Haitian Republic.
The only successful slave revolt in achieving permanent independence under a new nation.
Gained freedom from the French, however, not from themselves.
Had destroyed their economy in their run at independence. -
Congres of Vienna
A conference of ambassadors of European states.
The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars, and the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire.
Resulted in the redrawing of the continent's political map.
Served as a model for later organizations such as the League of Nations and United Nations. -
The Battle of Waterloo
An Imperial French army under the command of Emperor Napoleon was defeated.
One of the few blemishes under Napolean's otherwise invincible winning streak.
Ended the political and military career of Napoleon Bonaparte.
It brought almost half a century of international peace in Europe; no further major conflict occurred until the Crimean War.