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476
The fall of the Roman Empire
The Roman Empire stretched across all of Europe at one point and brought a time of peace. It fell when Visigoths, Vandals, and other Germanic groups ransacked the city, destroying it multiple times. In 476 C.E the last Roman emperor fell. The Roman empire was no more. http://www.ushistory.org/civ/6f.asp -
Period: 476 to 1400
The Middle Ages (The Dark Ages)
The Middle Ages were the period of time where monarchs were believed to be gods, the arts were ignored, and wealth was incredibly uneven.Wars were fought between many countries, most notably the crusades, and religion was the most important part of peoples lives. Diseases were rife, such as cholera and the black death. It ended thanks to the printing press's invention by Hans Gutenberg, which encouraged literacy and the spread of ideas. www.westernreservepublicmedia.org/middleages/big_intro.htm -
Period: 1095 to 1291
The Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars between the Islamic Middle East and Europe on the Pope's orders. There were eight total crusades during this time period. During them, soldiers wore the cross on their robes and believed that they were messengers of God even though they ransacked destroyed nearly every major Muslim city and town that they came across. The crusades were mostly a failure for Europe, as they lost almost all of the land they gained.
https://www.history.com/topics/crusades -
Period: 1300 to
The Renaissance
The Renaissance was a period of time in Europe where the arts flourished. The time period started in Florence, Italy, and was mostly thanks to Hans Gutenberg's invention, the printing press. During this time education became more common, and literacy was at a high. Many of the most famous and well known works of art today came from the Renaissance, such as Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa and Michaelangelo's Sistine Chapel.
http://history-world.org/renaissance.htm -
Period: 1517 to
The Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation took place when a German monk named Martin Luther decided that there were many problems with the Catholic church and decided to post his complaints and call it his 95 theses. Another complaint that he had was that the churches were selling indulgences that guaranteed someone to leave purgatory. This caused a split between the church and resulted in a sperate branch of Christianity called Protestantism. https://www.britannica.com/event/Reformation -
Period: to
The Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was a period of time where logic and reasoning were supreme, and great thinkers such as Voltaire, Montesquieu, and Locke were as famous as celebrities. It took place mostly in France, and spread over all of Europe. During the Age of Enlightenment many stopped taking religion at face value, and instead, they started to question and think. It gave rise to ideas such as freedom of speech and separation of powers. www.livescience.com/55327-the-enlightenment.html -
Period: to
The Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a time period where countries stopped relying on cottage industries and began to favor large corporations. The economic focus shifted to manufacturing, and new technology such as the assembly line speeded up production. Products started to be made more cheaply in bulk, and businesses competed with each other to sell the most. The downside of this was that some industries formed monopolies, such as J.D Rockefeller. www.history.com/topics/industrial-revolution -
Period: to
The French Revolution
A period of time where the French citizens rebelled against the monarchs. They did this for many reasons, but the first and foremost was the unfair taxes that were leveled against them. They overthrew the monarchy and created the committee of public safety, headed by Maximilien Robespierre. The revolution ended with the coronation of Napoleon.
https://www.jacobinmag.com/.../french-revolution-bastille-day-guide-jacobins-terror -
Period: to
World War One
The First World War occurred when the Serbian anarchist group the Black Hand Gang assassinated Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand. This started a war between the two, and more and more countries got drawn in. The Fighting was a blend of old tactics and new technology, cavalry charges against machine guns, line formation against mortars. This only increased the brutality and violence of the war. It ended withthe allied powers victorious, and paved the way to WW2.
https://www.bl.uk/world-war-one -
Period: to
World War Two
The Second World War occurred when Adolf Hitler came to power and made Nazi Germany a major power, declaring war on Poland. The U.K, France, and others retaliated, and a war ensued between the allies and the axis. It was a war fought on all continents and featured some horrific events such as the holocaust. It was won by the allies when they marched to Berlin. The end of the war brought about the dawn of the nuclear age with the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan.
historynet.com/world-war-ii -
Period: to
The Cold War
The Cold War was a period of time when the USSR and the U.S attempted to outdo each other in all categories due to their different governments and economies. The U.S was a capitalist democracy while the USSR was a communist dictatorship. They attempted to install their own preferred type of government in other countries by influencing the outcomes of power struggles and wars. They each stockpiled nuclear weapons,via arms race. It ended with the fall of the USSR. www.history.com/topics/cold-war -
Period: to
NATO
NATO, or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, was a collection of countries in North America and Europe that were capitalist democracies, such as the U.S, France, the U.K, Sweden, Mexico, and Canada. The job of the organization is to encourage democracies and free trade worldwide. It was founded during the Cold War as an opposition to the Warsaw Pact made by communist countries and is still around today. https://www.nato.int/ -
Period: to
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was a collection of communist countries under the command or allied to the USSR. It was made partly in opposition to NATO and partly to increase trade between these communist countries and encourage communism around the world. The pact did not stand the test of time, however, and was destroyed with the fall of the USSR and the collapse of communism.
www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-warsaw-pact-is-formed -
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
The Fall of the Berlin Wall occurred on November 9th, 1989 when the Berlin Wall, a wall that signified the border between east and west Germany, was destroyed by the Berliners. this reunited families that hadn't seen each other in decades, and signified the beginning of the end for the Soviet Union. Thousands helped partake in the destruction of the Berlin wall, and today it only exists as a memorial. https://www.washingtonpost.com/.../and-let-there-be-light-the-fall-of-the-berlin-wall-and... -
Collapse of the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union had been the US's rival for over 50 years when it fell, a long-lasting symbol of communism and power brought down. However, it was not a military intervention nor a disadvantage in technology that brought the USSR down. It was itself, as the snake devoured its own tale. After the Union had fallen, there was an attempt to turn Russia int a democracy, but that didn't go very well, and one man has been in power for over twenty years now. history.com/history-of-the-soviet-union -
Creation of the European Union
The European Union was a collection of European countries unified with the purpose of increasing economic activity in Europe. They use a currency called the Euro and help bail each other out of debt and other financial problems. However, the union does have its critics, such as the United Kingdom which has stated that it is going to withdraw from the union to better help its finances privately. Whether or not that is the death knell for the union remains to be seen.
www.europa.eu/european-union