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Jan 1, 1000
Leif Erikson reaches North America
Leif Erikson discovered what is now known as Canada and named the land there; Helluland, Markland and Vinland. In doing this he became the first European to set foot in North America. He actually discovered Canada accidentally, he had travelled to Norway, where he was born, and was sailing back to Greenland when his boat was blown off course. -
Jan 1, 1042
Edward the Confessor
In 1041, the only living son of Ethelred II and Emma, Edward, was invited to Hardicanute. He accepted, and was lucky enough to be there when the Danish ruler died at a wedding feast. He began to rule England. He was greatly supported by his Norman followers, and had great power. However, he showed favouritism to his Norman followers, and the Anglo-Saxons were angry. Soon Edward's position was extremely weak as he was threateded by Earl Godwine of Wessex. -
Jan 1, 1065
Domesday Book
William I ordered a book to be made containing information on who owened what throuought Britan. He wanted this book to further establish his reign on Medieval England. The name of the book is the fact that it bought Doom and Gloom to the people of Britan, hence the name Domesday Book.
This book provides a valuable source of information about life in Medieval England and samples of the book can still be found today. -
Oct 14, 1066
Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings occurred due to King Harold and William of Normandy both wanting control of the only major road that linked Hastings to London. If Harold won, it would be hard for William of Normandy to follow up his campaign for control of the road to London.
In the end William of Normandy won the battle, and crowned himself King William on Christmas Day, 1066. After his victory, William took hostages to ensure that the surrender of Berkhamsted was kept. The Battle of Hastings began the -
Nov 27, 1095
First Crusade
The First Crusade was prompted by the massacre of 3000 Christian Pilgrims in Jerusalem. It was a battle of the Christian and Islamic. This crusade established the Latin Kingdom of Jeruselum.
The Crusades infuenced the wealth and power of the Catholic Church and established the basic theory of feudalism, -
Jan 1, 1185
Minamoto Yoritomo- First Shogun
Minamoto Yoritomo was the first Shogun to rule Japan in 1185. He was also the founder of the first Bakufu in Kamakura. In 1148 he recieved his first court title. In July 1180 he recieved news that Tairo Kiyomori wanted him executed. Yoritomo organised for his Samurais to make a raid against Kiyomori, which they did. This resulted in the death of Yoritomo. Yoritomo himself did not take part in the raid but stayed at his father-in-law's. Yoritomo emerged from this raid as the first shogun leader. -
Jun 15, 1215
The Signing of Magna Carta
The Magna Carta was written to show that the power of the king could be limited by a contract. King John was forced to sign it to make him rule by the Old English laws that were in place before the Normans took over England. The effects of the Magna Carta being put in place include the churches being free from royal interference, no taxes except regular taxes were to be put in place, and all rights and measures were to be kept uniform throughout the realm. -
Jan 1, 1274
Mongols Invade Japan
Kublai Kahn was the grandson of Genghis Kahn. Before Kublai came to rule, the Mongols had already conquered a vast territory spreading throughout North China, Persia, Central Asia, Russia, and partly into the Middle East. After easily conquering Korea, he then wanted to move on to Japan. He only wanted to do this to carry on the tradition from his grandfather and father.
The Mongols were about to win the battle, when that night they returned to their ships and were sunk by a very lucky wind. -
Aug 1, 1348
Plague reaches England
The Bubonic Plague broke out in 1347 in the Black Sea area in Asia Minor. By August in 1348 it had reached the shores of England. This is because the plague was spread by fleas carried by rats on boats that landed in the ports of different countries.
After the plague approxamately 20 million people died in Europe alone. -
Jan 1, 1349
Killing of Jews during Black Death
The Jews were killed during the plague because the Christians believed Jews had 'Poisoned the walls' of Christian churches in order to poison the Christians. They were acused by many different church leaders and in turn over 60 large and 150 small Jewish communities were destroyed as a result.
The effects of this massacre include the diminshing of the Jewish community leaving many areas of Europe deserted and many plots of land were reverted to wilderness. -
Jan 1, 1350
Renaissance
The Renaissance period was caused by the bubonic plague killing over 1/3 of Europe’s population, meaning the kings and upperclassmen needed the money of the peasants and people lower on the feudal system to survive.
The effects of it include new religious ideas people acquired from being more open-minded and new art styles being formed, such as the abstract artwork from Pablo Picasso. -
Jan 1, 1369
Reoccurance of Plague
When the plague died out in 1348, everyone hoped that it had well and truly gone. But in 1369 the plague broke out again. This is due to the hot temperatures and because of the plague still being in the air.
After the plague the prices of agriculture dropped and wages also rose, giving people better living conditions. -
Jun 14, 1381
Peasants Revolt
After the plague had subsided, there was a war in France and Britan lost a lot of money, so Richard II introduced the Poll Tax in 1380.In 1381, when a tax collector came to Fobbing, Essex, to collect their tax, they threw him out and organised an 'army'.Many other villages in Essex had joined, and they marched down to London.On June 14th the king met with them, and gave them what they asked for.The next day, he killed Wat Tyler, the leader of the peasants, which sent the peasants home. -
Jan 1, 1450
Gutenberg invents the Printing Press
Gutenberg invented the printing press because he had just lost a lot of money and he needed money to pay off his debts. He had the idea to make a device that would enable him to print text using moveable blocks of letters and graphics (commas, full stops etc). These would make it posstible to print books much faster. He printed a test book in Latin, then proceded to print the Gutenberg bibles. 200 copies were made. After this invention, books were printed much faster and many more made. -
Aug 3, 1492
Christopher Columbus landed in South America
Christopher Columbus set sail from Palos de la Frontera, Spain, with approxamately 90 men and 3 ships. He wanted to reach Asia and he believed the fastest way to get there was sailing west across the Atlantic ocean. They set sail from the Canary Islands, where they had stopped to repair the boats, on August 6, and headed due west. Land was sighted on October 12, and the ships landed in Guanahani, in the Bahamas. Columbus claimed the land in the name of Spain, and called it San Salvador. -
Jun 21, 1582
Death of Oda Nobunaga
Oda Nobunaga died by commiting the Japanese ritual suicide sekkupu, after everybody in his army was dead. He died at the Honno temple of Kyoto. His last words were "No Regret."
After he died, Toyotomi Hideyoshi conquered all of Japan. -
Battle of Sekigahara
The battle was caused by the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. On October 21, 1600 75,000 soldiers in Tokugawa Ieyasu’s eastern army decided to avenge his death. Ieyasu won the battle against General Ii Naomasa. With this victory came great power.
The effects of this battle included great power over the emperor, the imperial court, all daimyo, and religious orders in the country. -
Death of Tokugawa Ieyasu
Before he died, Tokugawa Ieyasu left the title of Shogun to his son, Hideyori. Therefore, when Ieyasu fell ill and died in 1616, Hideyori stepped in and took over rule as Shogun. Ieyasu was 75 when he died.
After he died, Tokugawa Ieyasu was recognised as one of the most important figures in Shogunate Japan. -
Great Plague of London
The Great Plague of London was caused by the climate - the summer of 1665 was a hot one. London's population had continued to increase. The only way to get rid of rubbish was to throw it out into the streets.This was the perfect living and breeding conditions for rats.This meant the fleas had many more 'hosts' to choose from and the plague was spread faster. The plague ended when the Great Fire of London burt down many of the poorer areas. After the plague, London lost over half it's population. -
Erik the Red settles in Greenland
Before he settled, Erik the Red explored and named Greenland. This was after he had been outlawed for three years for manslaughter in Iceland. Then, in 986, he lead the first settelers to the southern coast of Greenland, in a place he named Brattahlid but which today is known as Qassiarsuk. After he had settled, many other people made there way into Greenland and settled, from the Southeast coast across to the Western and Eastern.
