-
Apr 1, 1492
Colombus sails to the Americas
Colombus made the mistake of thinking that he could reach Asia by simply sailing west; this led to him landing on an island in the Caribbean. He returned a number of times for multiple reasons, one of them to build empires. -
Apr 1, 1500
Spanish Conquest
Hernando Cortes landed on the shores of mexico in the 1500's. They colonized several Carribean islands and then turned their attention to the American mainland. -
Apr 1, 1521
Cortez conquers the Aztecs
Cortez learned of the wealthy Aztec empire after landing in Mexico. He then took 600 men to the Aztec capital. The Aztec emporer thought that he was a God at first glance. -
Apr 1, 1543
Copernicus presents the Heliocentric Theory
The heliocentric theory is the theory that the planets revolve around the sun. This theory was represented in corpernicus' book "On the revolutions of heavenly bodies." His theory made the church very mad. -
Apr 1, 1562
The Frecnch wars of religion
The hugenots were French Protestants influenced by John Calvin. These batlles lasted for about 30 years, and ended when Henry IV came to the throne. -
Defeat of the Spanish Armada
IN 1588 Phillip II sent an armada to invadde England. The invasion was a disaster. -
English settle in Jamestown
A company of London investors received from King James a charter to found a colony in North America. The colonists then chose to name this town Jamestown in honor of their King. -
Louis XIV of France begins his reign
Louis XIV was seen as the best example of absolutism in the 17th century. He officially became king at the age of four, but didn't take full power until 1661. -
Spain builds a new empire
Cortes and Pizarro conquered the civilations of the Americas. Meanwhile fellow conquistadors defeated other native peoples. -
Peter the Great of Russia begins his reign
Peter the Great was born in 1672 and he died in 1725. One of his first acts was the storming of Azov. -
Glorious revolution in England
Parliament became angry because of James II's actions and becasue he could possibly become king. A famous quote from the glorious revolution was "no battles or blood." -
The French revolution begins
The French revolution changed the social order of France. It was changed from absolute monarchy to old redime. -
The storming of the Bastille
On the night of July 14, 1789 a mob and some of the king's soldiers stormed the bastille. Partially in response to the king bringing in swiss soldiers. No gaurds were left alive. -
King Louis XIV tries to escape
While they were trying to escape the king was digguised as a steward, and his son as a woman wearing a dress. They were trying to escape because the king could not accept all of the reforms. This led to him being beheaded. -
Napolean conquers most of Europe.
His glory as a military commander was remarkable but hundreds of thousands died for his ambition to conquer Europe. The year 1810 is considered by many as the height of Napoleons power but with rising death toils and trouble in Spain the clouds of his future downfall were gathering.
