West and the World Timeline

Bubonic Plague Begins

Jan 1, 1347

Starting in China, the plague was spread by infected fleas travelling on rats who travelled on merchant ships. The rats then infected the goods on the ships which travelled all over. After 5 years, one third of Europes population had died.

Renaissance Begins

Jan 1, 1350

Beginning in the year 1350, Renaissance means 'rebirth'. It was a intellectual and artistic movement.

Brunelleschi creates Linear Perspective

Jan 1, 1413

Brunelleschi recieved his training in a goldsmith workshop. Then between 1402 and 1404, he and Donatello went to Rome to study the antient ruins. In 1413 when Brunelleschi created linear perspective, Florentine painters and sculptors became obsessed with it.

Joan of Arc and the Siege of Orleans

Oct 12, 1428

Joan was born in 1412 in a little village. Always hearing stories from her father about the poor condition of France, Joan began recieving visions and hearing strange voices from angels telling her that she could deliver the land. In 1482, the Siege of Orleans began. During this time, she lead the soldiers well, leading them to a victory. She was then called the 'Maid of Orleans'.

Johann Gutenburg invents the Printing Press

Jan 1, 1440

Gutenburg started work on the printing press in 1436, and was completed in 1440. He used replaceable/moveable wooden letters to make it. This invention lowered the price of printed materials.

Cosimo de Medici dies

Aug 1, 1464

Belonging to one of the richest families in Italy, Cosimo was the first of the Medici political dynasty. Cosimo controlled the government in Florence.
He died at the age of 74, the cause unknown.

Spanish Inquisition

Jan 1, 1478

Spain struggled between many different belief systems including Catholisism, Protestantism, Islam and Judaism. After the Crusades and the Reconquest of Spain, the leaders of Spain needed a way to reunify the country, so in 1478 permission was given by the pope to begin the Spanish Inquisition. This meant the removal of all Jews, Protestants and other non-believers.

Sandro Botticelli paints the Birth of Venus

Jan 1, 1486

Painted by Botticelli in 1486, the painting has Venus coming out of the water as a fully grown woman.

Columbus discovers the America's

Jan 1, 1492

After getting permission from the monarchs of Spain, Christopher Columbus set sail to discover the new world, or North America.

Da Vinci paints the Last Supper

Jan 1, 1495

The painting portrays Jesus with the apostles during the last supper.

Raphael paints the School of Athens

Jan 1, 1510

Part of Raphael's commission to decorate one of the rooms in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. One of the most famous paintings done by Raphael. Contains many different famous figures, Plato and Aristotle being the focal point of the painting.

Michelangelo paints the Sistine Chapel

Jan 1, 1512

The best known chapel in Vatican City, the Sistine Chapel is famous for its architecture and the painting inside. Michelangelo painted the ceiling between 1508 and 1512.

Michiavelli writes the Prince

Jan 1, 1514

Sometimes called one of the first work of modern philosophy, the Prince is a political treatise. The printed version was not published until 5 years after Michiavelli's death.

Thomas More Utopia

Jan 1, 1514

Utopia is one of More's best known pieces of work. In the book, Raphael, a traveller, describes the political arrangements of the imaginary island of Utopia.

Martin Luther 95 Theses

Jan 1, 1517

Regarded as the catalyst for the Protestant Reformation. The work speaks against clerical abuse, especially the sale of indulgences.

Start of the European Wars of Religion

Jan 1, 1524

This was a series of wars from 1524 to 1648. They were started due to the religious change of the period. A few of these wars were the German Peasants' War, the Battle of Kappel and the Eighty Years' War.

Ivan the Terrible is born

Aug 25, 1530

Ivan the Terrible was born in 1530. He took the throne in 1547 at the age of seventeen and immediately proclaimed himself Csar. He is known for his brutal ruling, centralized administration of Russia and expanding the boundries of the Russian Empire.

Henry VIII of England Excommunicated

Jan 1, 1533

Henry VIII upset the Pope of the Catholic church in many differnt ways such as persecuting those who opposed the Acts of Supremacy and Succession, dissolving the monasteries and his last act, attacking religious shrines in England that contained religious relics. This caused his excommunication.

Jesuit Order founded by Ignatius Loyola

Jan 1, 1534

Loyola was born in 1491 to a wealthy, noble family. He was educated as a knight and joined the army. Loyola was injured during the Battle of Pamplona, and during his recovery he underwent a spiritual transformation. Then in 1534, he founded the Jesuit Order.

Desidarius Erasmus dies

Jul 12, 1536

Also known as Erasmus of Rotterdam, Desidarius Erasmus was a Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, social critic, teacher and theologian.

Scientific Revolution

Jan 1, 1543

Beginning in Europe near the end of the Renaissance and through the 18th century. This time was later known as The Enlightenment, and sparked in 1543 by the publication of Copernicus's 'De revolutionibus orbium coelestium'.

Spain declares Bankruptcy

Jan 1, 1557

During this time, money being collected from taxes was being used to pay off debts from wars and sponsor current wars. This lead to bankruptcy.

Coronation of Queen Elizabeth I

Nov 17, 1559

Queen of England from 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last monarch of the Tudor dynasty.

Saint Bartholomew's Massacre

Aug 23, 1572

It began as the assassination of Huguenot Leaders in Paris, but ended up turning into a killing spree of tens of thousands Huguenots all across France.

Edict of Nantes

Apr 13, 1598

Marks the end of France's Wars of Religion. It granted the Huguenots rights in France, which was mostly Catholic.