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King James I
After Queen Elizabeth I died on March 24, 1603. That same day, after going along her—mostly dead—family tree, James I became king as the rightful heir to the throne of England. He also changed the name to the Stuart Dynasty. James believed in Divine Right—which is one’s belief that God chose them to be and power and so only they should have all the power. This made it hard for James and Parliament to work together. -
Gunpowder Plot
Catholics in England felt they were being treated unfairly and wanted England a catholic country again. Many Catholics came together and decided to plow up the House of Parliament. They put 36 barrels of gunpowder in a cellar under the house. King found out about the plot and sent guards to search the house. The guards found Guy Fawkes, a man apart of the plot, and arrested him. -
The Petition of Rights
The Petition of Rights was a petition made by Parliament for King Charles I to sign. The Petition stated: No jailing people without good reason, Parliament must approve all taxes, and no forcing citizens to house soldiers. King Charles I signed but later ignored the petition. -
The Life of King Louis XIV (14th)
King Louis XIV, born on 9/5/1638, was the king of France. He decided to build a palace for his nobles, called Versailles, to keep a watchful eye on them. Versailles cost about $2 billion today putting France in major debt. To pay it off Louis wanted to temporarily tax the 1 and 2 estates, but they refused. This, along with other things, was the reason for the French Revolution arose. During the revolution Louis and his family try to escape, but fail. On 1/21/1793 he was sent to the guillotine. -
Execution of King Charles I
After a few conflicts, Parliament and King Charles I broke out into war (1642-1651). It was the Cavaliers (supporters of the King) vs. Roundheads (supporters of Parliament). The Roundheads won and Charles I was publicly beheaded on January 30, 1649. This is significant because kings were not killed by execution but usually from being in battle and dying of old age or sickness. -
Antoine Louis and the Guillotine
Antoine Louis was a French siege on and physician(2/13/1723-6/20/1792) who invented the guillotine used during, mostly, the Reign of Terror. The guillotine was invented to give executors a quick painless death. The name “guillotine” came from a physician named Joseph Guillotine. Ironically,Joseph was against the death penalty. . .—people started the device the guillotine. Joseph was not happy! Even some of his family members changed their last name so they wouldn’t be associated with the device! -
Montesquieu publishes Spirit of the Laws
Montesquieu was an Enlightenment thinker who wrote the book The Spirit of Laws. It talked about his famous ideas of Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances with government. The ideas were about how he thought the powers of the government should be equally split and limited. -
The Life of Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette was born on November 5, 1755 and sent to the guillotine October 16,1793. At the age of 14 was set to marry King Louis XIV; however, when she became queen not many people liked her very much. One, she was from Austria which had a few wars with France; two, she was wasteful with lots of money; and three, many people thought she didn’t care about the French people. And to only make it worse, there were two rumor-us scandals that she was, slightly or not at all, involved in. -
William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce was born on August 24,1759. He was a Member of Parliament from the years 1780-1825. Over his lifetime Wilberforce fought hard to end slavery in Great Britain. By 1800, the act of union brought 100 new Irish Members of Parliament, and, fortunately, most of them were anti-slavery. By 1807 the Abolition of Slavery Trade Bill was passed. And in 1833 the abolitionist of Slavery Act was passed. Unfortunately, Wilberforce died three days later. -
Australia
Australia (aka New South Wales) was founded by James cook in 1770 but wasn’t settled on till January 26, 1788. 11 ships full of convicts sailed for 6 months to Australia! It originally used as a place to store convicts. Most of the convicts were people punished for steeling cheese, ribbon, the smallest amount of money, etc. This is because the British wanted to get rid of crime in their country; they decided to ship then to Australia because they were running out of room in the jail houses. -
The French Revolution
The French Revolution was a revolution by the poor people of France over throwing the King and Queen of France—which have happened to be King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette. The French Revolution lasted between May 5,1789 and November 9, 1799. -
The Tennis Court Oath
The Tennis Court Oath was an act of disobedience to King Louis XVI by the Third Estate (the peasants). This was taken place at a tennis court in Versailles. The Third Estate said they would not leave until the king made a new French Constitution. -
Storming Bastille
A mob of people stormed Bastille. Bastille was a royal prison and was seen, as to the French people, as a symbol of tyranny. At dawn on the 14th a mob of people with muskets and swords stormed the prison to destroy it. Even the soldiers around the prison refused to stop the mob. King Louis the XVI lost control of the people and the army. -
Eli Whitney’s Cotton Gin
Eli Whitney, an American inventor, was born on December 8, 1765. Eli is most famous for two inventions: his interchangeable parts and his cotton gin. His cotton gin was a machine that separate the seed from the cotton more quickly and efficiently than it being done by hand. Although his cotton gin was a great innovation during the time Eli made most of his money off of his ingenious idea of interchangeable parts. Interchangeable parts were parts that could be substituted for other parts. -
Napoleon Becomes Emperor
Napoleon Bonaparte, on December 2, 1804, becomes Emperor of France. There are rumors that he crowned himself in front of the pope. Whether or not this story is true it suggest that Napoleon is saying he has a higher authority over the church. -
The Building of the Arc de Triumph du Carrousel
The building of the Arc de Triumph du Carrousel began on Constantine’s birthday. The architecture was built during the Enlightenment, a time when the people of England admired Greek and Roman architecture (aka Neoclassical architecture). This piece resembles the Arc of Emperor Constantine built in 312 AD. -
Napoleon Marries Marie-Louis
On March 12,1810 Napoleon marries his second wife Marie-Louis. His first wife, Josephine, was unable to give him children so he divorced her. However, Napoleon wrote that he felt somber divorcing her because they had an overall good marriage—not as healthy though. It has been said that Josephine would have affairs with other men, yet, ironically, Napoleon would also be having affairs with other women! On March 20,1811 Marie-Louis gave birth to a son named Napoleon Francis Joseph Charles. -
Napoleon gets exiled to the Island of Elba
Napoleon fights in the Battle of Leipzig (October 16-17, 1813),aka the Battle of the Nations, and is defeated. This battle was against Napoleon’s French army and the Coalitions, allied with other European countries. Napoleons army was weakened and so the leaders of the Coalition forced him to step down from his throne as Emperor. On March 31, 1814 the allied forces occupied Paris and on April 11th Napoleon was exiled to the Island of Elba. -
Etiquette and Manners of the Victorian Era
There were an unnecessary amount of rules about etiquette and manner during the Victorian Era. Not only were there so many rules but they were incredibly specific. In fact there were so many rules that were so specific there were books published about etiquette and social manner! On book, True Politeness: A Hand-book of Etiquette for Ladies, was written by Leavitt and Allen in 1817 about table and conversation manners; etiquette on dress and fashion and much more! -
Child Labor in Britain
During the Industrial Revolution child were employed to work in factories. Often their jobs would be dangerous with fatal consequences. On March 16, 132 Micheal Sadler introduced a bill to Parliament said to change the hours of work from 18 to 10 hours for any workers under the age of 18. Parliament didn’t pass the law. However, in April 1832 Parliamentary enquiry into child labor, so Parliament interviews 48 people who worked in factories as children. -
The Reform Bill of 1832
The Reform Bill of 1832 was a bill meant to broaden the eligibility of people able to vote. At the beginning of this period only male landowners could vote. Soon they allowed middle class men to vote. By about the end of this period many more types of people could vote, but still not everyone. -
The Abolition of Slavery in England
The Slavery Abolition Act was approved on August 28, 1833, but took effect on August 1, 1834. William Wilberforce was a Member of Parliament, during the time, working hard for years trying to abolish slavery in England. Unfortunately, Wilberforce died three days after the act was passed. -
Dmitri Mendeleev and the Periodic Table
On February 2, 1834 Dmitri Mendeleev was born in Tobolsk, Russia. In 1869 Mendeleev created the Periodic Table of Elements. This table holds chemical elements, written as element symbols, and organized on the chart according to atomic mass. -
The Chartist Movement
The Chartist movement in 1838 was a movement where a group called the Chartist had a campaign for the unfair changes made by the Reform Bill in 1832. Drafted by William Lovett, the Chartist demanded votes for all men, the abolition of the requirement that Member of Parliament be property owner, payment for Parliament Members, and the secret ballot. By 1900 almost every demand on the list became a law. -
The Opium War
The British needed an item to sell the China so they could make money, so they traded them opium. However, Chinese citizens started to get addicted to it, so the substance became illegal. The Chinese started to search British merchant ships for opium. This made the British mad—war broke out between them. Unfortunately, the Chinese didn’t start a chance against the British’s high technology. So they surrendered and signed the Treaty of Nanjing. -
Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison was an American inventor who was born on February 11, 1847 in Milan,Ohio. He created multiple inventions including popular ones like the light build (1879), the phonograph (1877), moving pictures (1888), movie camera (1888) and much more! From 1875 to 1879 Edison attended The Cooper Union. On October 18, 1931 in West Orange, New Jersey Edison died from “complications of diabetes.” -
The Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace was a building made completely out of 300,000 panes of glass. It was meant to show off all the new inventions and innovations from the British Empire. The full name of the building is The Great Exhibition of the Work of Industry of All Nations. The palace was basically a tourist spot that allowed visitors from May to October in 1851. During that time they had about 6 million visitors! Unfortunately, the palace burnt down in 1936. -
The Sepoy Mutiny
The Sepoy Mutiny, or War of Independence of 1857, was a rebellion of the Indians against the British. There was a rumor that the cartridges, the Indian soldiers—Sepoy—used for their rifles, was sealed with cow and pig fat! The Hindus consider the cow sacred; the Muslims considered the pig sacred. The Sepoy refused to use cartridges, so they were sent to prison. This angered them, and on May 10 the Sepoy shot British officers then went to Delhi. There, the British stopped the rebellion fiercely! -
The Great Stink of 1858
The Great Stink of 1858 was a summer where a heat wave hit England. From July to August the heat wave exacerbated the smell of waste form the River Thames. This happened because the sewer system directed all waste into Thames, and, to make it worse, Thames was the main source of drinking water, so there were many outbreaks of illnesses! The Parliament building was moved next to the river so they couldn’t ignore the issue. The hired an engineer named Joseph Bazalgette to change the sewer system. -
The Death of Prince Albert
When Queen Victoria was 16 she met her cousin, who was a minor German Prince, named Prince Albert. Four years later they got married. On December 14, 1861 Albert died; Victoria was so devastated she wore a black dress for the rest of her life and had clothes laid out for him everyday! -
Rasputin Heals Alexi?
Rasputin wasn’t a great man from the beginning. He claimed to be a religious man—he was way off from Christianity! However, many people fell under his influence. Rasputin also claimed to have “healing” powers. The Czar family had a son Alexi who had hemophilia. They invited him, secretly, to the castle to heal their son. And somehow, he did! But when Rasputin would leave Alexi’s bleeding would come back. So Rasputin stayed with the family, soon,basically, running the country. -
The Boer War
The Boer war was a war between the British and the Boers. The Boers were Dutch settlers in South Africa in the 1600s. Tension that caused the war began when gold was discovered on the land in the 1800s. Because of this, British tried to make the Boer’s territory a part of the British Empire. On October 11, 1899, war broke out. Unfortunately, the Boers were outnumbered and the British won on May 31, 1902. By 1910 the Boer’s territory became a self-governing union under British Control. -
The Boxer Rebellion
From June to August of 1900 a group called the Boxers, an anti-foreigner society, attacked Beijing. The boxers were first called “The Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists.” They would protest against western’s presence in China. When they rebelled more than 100,000 people died. The Boxers killed foreigners, Chinese Christians, and any Chinese who had ties to foreigners. -
The Wright Brothers and the First Flying Machine
On April 16, 1867 in Millville, Indiana Wilbur Wright was born, and on August 19, 1871 in Dayton, Ohio Orville Wright was born. On December 17, 1903 the Wright brothers flew the first plane in Kitty Hawks, North Carolina. The plane few just nearly one minute!—specifically it flew 59 seconds in the air! The plane lengthened 21 feet and 1 inch and had a height of 9 feet and 4 inches. It ran on gasoline and was named the Wright Flyer. -
The Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese war began because of land. The outcome was unexpected! You’d usually expect the Russians to win a war; in this case not! Surprisingly, the Japanese destroyed Russia! This shocked everyone. The reason the Japanese won was because of their more advanced technology than the Russians. In 1905 the Treaty of Portsmouth, encouraged by Theodore Roosevelt, was signed to end the war. After this Japan was recognized as a powerful century of the world and was greatly respected. -
Bloody Sunday
On January 22, 1095 in St.Petersburg, Russia, Father Georgi and the Assembly of Russian Workers went to the Czar palace to present them a petition. They were all unarmed and they marched to the palace peacefully. However, the Czar guards shot down the group, killing about 1000 people. -
The October Manifesto
The Czar signed a document called the October Manifesto to give people more rights. This included uncensored newspapers (freedom of speech), universals male suffrage (voting rights), and no law is passed until the consent of the Duma. This document was a response to the Russian Revolution in 1905. -
The Model T Ford
In 1908 Henry Ford created the Model T Ford car. Ford created this car to be affordable so more people could own cars. Before this Karl Benz created the first car in 1885, but the car was expensive and required a lot of maintenance. The Model T Ford cost $825, at the time, and Karl Benz’s car cost $1,000. An interesting thing about the Model T Ford is that it only came in black—“You can have it in any color you want, as long as it is black”—Henry Ford. -
The Assassination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand
On June 28, 1914 in Sarajevo, Gavrilo Princip, a 19 year old Siberian (a part of the Young Bosnia), murders Franz Ferdinand and his wife Maria. Franz Ferdinand was heir to the throne of Austria-Hunagary. This event is said to mark the beginning of World War I. -
The Armenian Genocide
In 1908 the Ottoman Empire, that overthrew Armenia, was overthrown by “Young Turks.” When WWI started and some Armenians started to fight for Russia the Turkish government questioned the Armenians loyalty. On April 24, 1915 the Armenian Genocide begins and Turkish soldiers arrested and executed about a million Armenians! Unfortunately, to this day Turkey denies the genocide ever happened. -
Lenin’s Rule of Russia
Lenin ruled Russia as a communist country. Lenin created the Abandonment of the Constituent Assembly in 1917–he shut that down quick! He created the Cheka (aka the secret police), the Red Terror, and war communism. During this time Russia was fighting in world war I. In 1918 Lenin signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk to get Russia out of the war. In 1924 Lenin dies. Overall, he did a good job ruling Russia and asserting control (at least compared to the people before and after him). -
The Spanish Flu
From around 1918 to 1920 a pandemic spread killing 50,000,000 to 100,000,000 people. This flu spread durning WWI when many counties were trying to keep information secret. Spain, however, was not participating in WWI meaning many people got their information from Spain. When Spain announced that there was a flu going around people assumed it came from Spain calling it the Spanish flu. Although, the Spanish believed the flu came from France calling it the “French flu”—it didn’t catch on. -
The Execution of the Last Czar
The last Czar or Tsar family of Russia were the Romanovs. The family included Czar Nicholas II, Czarina Alexandra; their children Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and Alexi. A group of communist called the Bolsheviks abducted the Czar and his family on March 7, 1917. For a year the family would secretly move from house to house. On July 17,1918 the family was tricked to go down to a room in the basement of the house they were staying in, and there, they were executed by a firing squad. -
The Treaty of Versailles
The signing of the Treaty of Versailles the agreement to end World War I. Woodrow Wilson, David Lloyd-George, George Clemenceau, and Vitoria Orlando (the Big Four) created the terms on the treaty. Germany had to choice but to sign the treaty because if they didn’t they would be forced to go back to war, and they were physically unable. Many Germans were mad at their government for signing the treaty; they wanted someone new. . .hence Hitler. -
Deranged Stalin
When Lenin died ion January 24, 1924 he didn’t make it clear who he wanted to be the leader of Russia. Stalin and Trotsky, really wanted the job; they fought for 4 years. Stalin ends up winning. Stalin, however, had one problem—he was a paranoid monster. At the time propaganda promoted Stalin as a great person; it was all a lie. Stalin wanted his face everywhere in Russia. He would think everyone was plotting against him, and Stalin wasn’t afraid to get bloody and harsh. -
The Reform Act of 1928
During the Victorian Era the urge for women’s rights really started to take pursuit. In 1918 the Representation of the People Act was passed. It stated that women over 30 got the right to vote. However, ten years later the Reform Act of 1928 was passed giving women 21 years and older the right to vote.