World History Timeline- Avery Ross

  • Period: 1180 to

    The Kingdom of Benin

    The Oba (king) of Benin was influential in early Portuguese imperial trade, as he had a monopoly on pepper and ivory. His castle in Ghana that was used by nations to trade with the Benins, Elmina, traded hands many times throughout the ages.
    Elmina Castle Ownership:
    1482- Portuguese
    1637- Dutch
    1872- British (after the kingdom fell)
  • Period: 1299 to

    The Ottoman Empire

    A ferocious Muslim empire that rose using various forms of slave warriors to fight their battles for them, with the Devshirme being the most prevalent and long running slavery method. Eventually the Devshirme became corrupt with wealth and power and thus they were slaughtered by the Sultan in the "Auspicious Incident" They fall after their defeat in WW1.
  • Period: 1405 to 1433

    Zheng He: Exploration period

    The Chinese empire sends massive ships (called junk ships) on treasure missions to collect interesting loot for Zheng He's private collection. At the end of the period when Zheng He decides to shift focus back to his county, over 3.5K ships are destroyed.
  • Period: 1415 to 1460

    Henry the Navigator: Portugese Treasure Missions

    The Portuguese send treasure missions spearheaded by a new "Caravel" design, much smaller than Chinese junk ships. The Portuguese focused on gathering spices over all else during this time.
  • 1450

    Beginning of Devshirme

    Devshirme is a type of slave army that raises powerful Janissarie soldiers who were seen as extremely dangerous warriors who fought with great ferocity.
  • 1453

    Ottoman Empire Takes Constantinople

  • 1485

    Conquest of South America Begins

    Hernan Cortes leads expeditions into South America that EVENTUALLY results in the complete Spanish domination of most of the continent after the conquering of the Aztec empire. The native woman (turned sex slave), La Malinche, helps Cortes greatly in his conquest, translating multiple languages for him.
  • 1494

    Treaty of Tordesillas

    The Spanish and Portuguese sign a treaty to define where in they world either company is allowed to explore without them being forced to fight each other over territory. The Spanish get the new world.
  • 1497

    John Cabot's Expedition

    British explorer searches for a passage around Russia leading down to China. He is never seen again.
  • Period: 1500 to

    Atlantic Slave Trade

    12 million slaves are trafficked over 300 years.
  • 1515

    Corruption of the Janissaries.

    1000 Muslim boys are submitted to join the Devshirme Janissaries, marking downfall of what was once a slavery based institution.
  • Period: 1527 to 1536

    The Adventures of: Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca

    Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca is on a exploration mission when his ship wrecks on what is now the coast of Texas. He ventures down through Mexico, being captured, becoming a medicine man, a friend of the tribes, and more, all the way to Spanish South America. These experiences lead him to become a major native activist.
  • Period: to

    Dutch East India Company

    Controls much of the East Indies for this time period, holding monopoly on several spices. Founded in 1595 by John Huyghen, ratified officially by the States General in 1602. A treaty with the Moluccas (spice islands) is created and signed by the Dutch and Moluccans in 1512
  • British East India Company Chartered

    Chartered by Elizabeth II and given the ability to control their own mini government.
  • Period: to

    Japanese Edo period

    Prostitution is legal and common.
  • Dutch EIC Takes Malucca

  • Dutch EIC takes Sri Lanka

  • Birth of Elizibeth Marsh

    Born in Jamaica, father was a British shipwright.
  • Period: to

    Worldwide Industrial Revolution

    England begins in 1760, Germany 1860, Japan 1870.
  • America Gains Independance

  • Death of Elizibeth Marsh

  • British Abolishes Slave Trade

    The Brits make slavery illegal and begin cracking down on foreign slavery as well.
    All slaves are emancipated by coin/force in 1833.
  • First Railway

    1825, Stockton England.
    1828, France
    1835, Germany
    1834-6, Russia
    1872, Japan
  • Auspcious Incident

    The end of an Era in the Ottoman empire. On this day the legendary slave corp of Devshirme soldiers is slaughtered and replaced by a newly trained artillery corp, by order of the Sultan Mahmud I.
  • EIC Doctrine of Lapse

    Women suddenly can not take the throne in India, so if there are no male heirs, the region in question belongs to the EIC
  • Chinese/British Opium Wars

    Ends in 1860. British fight the Chinese over opium entering their country. Chinese lose miserably, as expected,
  • Indian Soldiers Wound British Officers

  • Mangal Pandey Hanged

  • Battles break out between Sepoys and EIC

  • Indian Sepoys Refuse to use EIC Rifles

  • Mutinies Spread amongst the Sepoys

  • "On the Origin of Species" Charles Darwin

  • Berlin Conference

    Divides African into sections for different imperial powers
  • Boxer Rebellion in China

    The Society of the Righteous and Harmonious Fists (Boxers) begins an active rebellion against British Units
  • Revolutionary Alliance formed in China

    China becomes democratic
  • First peoples Republic of China

    Chinese Democratic government
  • China Enters WW1

    Major financial gain
  • Major Syphilis outbreak in Japan

  • Chinese Communist Party

    Mao Zedong with his communist party takes China
  • Cultural Revolution of China

    36 million die in the pursuit of a true Chinese communism.