West & The World Timeline

Bubonic Plague Begins

Jan 1, 1347

Bubonic plague is a disease that is spread by small rodents and fleas. Without treatment, the bubonic plague kills about two out of three infected humans within 4 days. The term bubonic plague is from the Greek word βουβών, meaning "groin." Swollen lymph nodes (buboes) are signs of a person suffering from bubonic plague. The Black Death swept through Europe in the 14th century and killed an estimated 25 million people, or 30-60% of the European population.

Renaissance Begins

Jan 1, 1350

The Renaissance was a cultural and artistic movement. It spanned from the 14th to the 17th centuries. The renaissance involved the development of the arts and political institutions. It stemmed from Italy, specifically Florence, Italy.

Brunelleschi Creates Linear Perspective

Jan 1, 1413

Brunelleschi is famous for two paintings that demonstrate linear perspective that he made in the early 1400s. The first Baptistery panel was constructed with a hole drilled through the centric vanishing point. Around this time, linear perspective spread throughout western Europe, and quickly became standard practice.

Joan of Arc Siege of Orleans

Oct 12, 1429

The battle of Orleans took place in Orléans, France. It was part of the Hundred Years’ War. The victory turned out to be a victory for the French army. It involved the ruling houses of France and England fighting for supremacy over France.

Johann Gutenburg Invents Printing Press

Aug 15, 1439

In Strasbourg in 1440, Gutenberg unveiled the secret of printing. By 1450, the press was in operation, and the first item to be printed there was a German poem. Gutenberg took on the Bible project in 1452. There may have been two presses, one for the pedestrian texts, and one for the Bible. In 1455 Gutenberg completed his 42-line Bible, known as the Gutenberg Bible. About 180 copies were printed, most on paper and some on vellum.

Death of Cosimo de Medici

Aug 1, 1464

The cause of Cosimo Medici's death is not specified. He died at age 74.

Scientific Revolution/Copernicus

Feb 19, 1473

Nicolaus Copernicus was a Renaissance astronomer and the first person to establish the position of the Earth in relation to the universe. He was born February 19, 1473. Copernicus was a mathematician, astronomer, jurist with a doctorate in law, physician, quadrilingual polyglot, classics scholar, translator, artist, Catholic cleric, governor, diplomat and economist. He is thought to have started the modern ideas of astrology and the scientific revolution. He died May 24, 1543.

Spanish Inquisition

Jan 1, 1478

The Spanish Inquisition occurred from 1478-1834. The inquisition was run by both civil and church authorities in efforts to root out non-believers. The Spanish Inquisition was one of the most deadly inquisitions in history. Spain included relgions such as Catholicism, Islam, Protestantism and Judaism. In 1478 he pope asked permission to purify Spain and begin the Spanish Inquisition.Tomas de Torquemada became the inquisitor-general for most of Spain. He remained the leader of the Spanish Inquisi

Sandro Botticelli Paints Birth of Venus

Jan 1, 1486

The Birth of Venus was painted by Sandro Botticelli in 1486 . It depicts the goddess Venus, emerging from the sea as a fully grown woman. The painting is held in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.

Christopher Columbus Discovers New World

Jan 1, 1492

With permission from the monarchs of Spain, Columbus sailed on the ships, Pinta, La Niña and La Santa María. He sailed in 1492 to discover the New World, now known as North America.

Da Vinci Paints Last Supper

Jan 1, 1495

The painting potrays Jesus with his apostles during the Last Supper before Jesus' death. it was painted by Da Vinci in 1495.

Raphael Paints The School of Athens

Jan 1, 1510

The School of Athens is one of the most famous frescoes by Raphael. It was painted between 1510 and 1511. It was part of Raphael's commission to decorate the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. The School of Athens was the second painting to be finished there. The picture has long been seen as "Raphael's masterpiece during The Renaissance.

Michelangelo Paints the Sistine Chapel

Jan 1, 1512

Sistine Chapel is the best-known chapel in Vatican City. It is famous for its architecture and its decorations. Michelangelo was the artist responsible for painting 1,100 m2 of the chapel ceiling between 1508 and 1512. The ceiling is believed to be his best work.

Machiavelli Writes the Prince

Jan 1, 1514

The Prince is a political treatise by political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli. The Prince is sometimes called one of the first works of modern philosophy. It was also in direct conflict with Catholic doctrines of the time.

Thomas More Utopia

Jan 1, 1514

Utopia was completed and published in 1516. It contrasts the contentious social life of European states with the perfectly orderly, reasonable social arrangements of Utopia. In Utopia, with communal ownership of land, private property does not exist, men and women are educated alike, and there is almost complete religious toleration.

Martin Luther 95 Theses

Jan 1, 1517

The Ninety-Five Theses were written by Martin Luther in 1517. They are widely viewed as the primary catalyst for the Protestant Reformation. The Ninety-Five Theses speak out against traditions in the Catholic Church and how they are wrong.

Start of the European Wars of Religion

Jan 1, 1524

The European wars of religion were a series of wars waged in Europe from ca. 1524 to 1648, following the onset of the Protestant Reformation. All of these wars were strongly influenced by the religious change of the period. Some of the wars were the German Peasants' War, the battle of Kappel in Switzerland, the Schmalkaldic War, the Eighty Years' War, the French Wars of Religion, the Thirty Years War, the Wars of the Three Kingdom.

Ivan the Terrible is Born

Aug 25, 1530

Ivan the Terrible was born on August 25, 1530. Ivan the Terrible was crowned as Tsar of Russia in 1533. He had a very complex personality.He was described as intelligent and devout, yet given to rage and outbreaks of mental illness. One outburst resulted in the death of heir Ivan Ivanovich.

Jesuit Order Founded by Ignatius Loyola

Jan 1, 1534

Ignatius of Loyola was a Spanish knight, hermit and priest. He established the Society of Jesuits in1537. Ignatius emerged as a religious leader during the Counter-Reformation. Loyola's devotion to the Catholic Church was characterized by unquestioning obedience to the Catholic Church's authority and hierarchy.

Death of Desiderius Erasmus

Jul 12, 1536

Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus was a Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, social critic, teacher, and theologian. Erasmus was a classical scholar who wrote in a pure Latin style. He was an early proponent of religious toleration. Erasmus lived through the Reformation period. Erasmus died in Basel in 1536 and was buried in the formerly Catholic cathedral there, which had been converted to a Reformed church in 1529. Erasmus was his baptismal name, Desiderius was a self-adopted name.

Henry VIII Excommunicated

Dec 17, 1538

Henry VIII upset the Pope of the Catholic Church by annulling his marriage to Catherine of Aragon and marrying Anne Boleyn, declaring himself "Supreme Head of the Church of England, persecuting those who opposed the Acts of Supremacy and Succession, dissolving the monasteries and his handling of the Pilgrimage of Grace. The final act of Henry VIII was attacking the religious shrines in England that contained religious relics. Because of these actions he was excommunicated.

Spain Declares Bankruptcy for the First Time

Jan 1, 1557

Resistance against the Emperor of Spain rose because of the heavy taxation. The money was being used to pay of debts from wars and to sponsor current wars. The enormous budget deficit accumulated during Charles' reign resulted in Spain declaring bankruptcy during the reign of Philip II.

Caronation of Queen Elizabeth I

Jan 15, 1559

Elizabeth I was queen of England and Ireland from November 17, 1558 until her death in March 24, 1603. She was sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess. Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. In 1558 Elizabeth succeeded the Catholic Mary I.

St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre

Aug 23, 1572

The St. Bartholomew's Day massacre was directed against the Huguenots (French Calvinist Protestants), during the French Wars of Religion. The massacre began on 23 August 1572, two days after the attempted assassination of Admiral Gaspard de Coligny. The massacre lasted several weeks and estimates for the number of dead vary from 5,000 to 30,000. The massacre marked a turning point in the French Wars of Religion. Throughout Europe, it "printed on Protestant minds the indelible conviction that Cat

Edict of Nantes

Apr 13, 1598

The Edict of Nantes was issued on April 13, 1598 by Henry IV of France. The edict granted the Huguenots rights within the country. Henry aimed to promote civil untiy and to avoid nationwide conflicts. The edict marked the end of the religious wars that had affected France during the second half of the 16th century. When the Edict of Nantes was repealed in October 1685 by Louis XIV, Protestant hostility increased against the French government.