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1469
Isabella & Ferdinand unify Spain
Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella of Castile initiated a confederation of the two kingdoms that became the basis for the unification of Spain. -
Period: 1491 to 1547
Henry VIII resigns in England
Known for his six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled. -
Period: 1558 to
Elizabeth I reigns England
Elizabeth succeeded to the throne on her half-sister's death -
Edict of Nantes
Granted religious tolerance and equality to the Huguenots and ended the French Wars of Religion. -
Don Quixote is published
The main message is one must live life in a genuine way, passionately, despite what other people think. -
Period: to
Thirty Years War
A series of wars fought by various nations for various reasons, including religious, dynastic, territorial, and commercial rivalries. -
Petition of Right signed
Is an English constitutional document setting out specific individual protections against the state, reportedly of equal value to the Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights. -
Period: to
The Long Parliament
It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened for only three weeks during the spring. -
Period: to
Louis XIV reigns as king of France
Also known as Louis the Great or the Sun King -
Peace of Westphalia is signed
The Peace of Westphalia formally ended the Thirty Years' War in Europe. -
Period: to
Charles II regions England
Was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland. -
Thomas Hobbes publishes “Leviathan”
Was written partly as a response to the fear Hobbes experienced during the political turmoil of the English Civil Wars. -
Period: to
Peter the Great reigns as czar of Russia
Peter the Great is known for the reforms and projects which he undertook to westernize Russia. -
Period: to
Glorious Revolution
The sequence of events that led to the deposition of James II and VII. -
English Bill of Rights signed
An Act declaring the Rights and Liberties of the subject, and settling the succession of the crown. -
John Locke publishes “Two Treaties of Government”
John Locke published this to attempt to prevent James II from ever taking the throne in the first place. -
Boston Massacre
A fight in the streets of Boston between patriots and British soldiers that ended with several patriots dead. -
Daniel Dafoe publishes “Robinson Crusoe”
Crusoe had to physically survive on the island by securing food, water, and shelter, but he also had to develop his self-confidence to survive, so he didn't give up hope of rescue. -
Jonathan Swift publishes “Gulliver’s Travels”
Jonathan Swift published because to change the English government and political world. -
Period: to
Sabastian Bach height of his career
A German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. -
Period: to
Frederick II reigns Prussia
The first king of Prussia. -
Baron de Montesquieu publishes “The Spirit of Laws”
Montesquieu reflects on the influence of climate on society, the separation of political powers, and the need for checks on a powerful executive office. -
Period: to
Denis Diderot publishes his “Encyclopedia”
Diderot and the Encyclopedists strived to transform how people think in the democratization and secularization of knowledge and to encourage people to educate themselves in all fields of knowledge. -
Period: to
Seven Years War
The Seven Years' War was a conflict between France and Great Britain that dispute over North American land claims in the region around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. -
Voltaire publishes “Candid”
The message of Candide is that all is not for the best and that this is not the best of all possible worlds. -
Period: to
George III reigns England
The first truly British monarch of the Hanoverian kings. -
Jean Jacque Rousseau publishes “Social Contract”
Rousseau's purpose was to outline a theory of society and government in which a social contract among a people would preserve their freedom. -
Period: to
Catherine Great reigns Russia
Catherine the Great was the reigning empress of Russia -
Boston Tea Party
A political protest where overtaxed tea was dumped into the Boston harbor. -
Intolerable Acts
Intolerable Acts in the American colonies were a series of four laws passed by the British Parliament to punish the colony of Massachusetts Bay for the Boston Tea Party. -
Battle of Lexington & Concord
The first major military campaign of the American Revolutionary War. -
Adam Smith publishes “Wealth of Nations”
Adam Smith was a Scottish moral philosopher by trade. He wrote the book to describe the industrialized capitalist system that was ruining the mercantilist system. -
Declaration of Independence signed
56 members of the Second Continental Congress started signing the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia. -
Period: to
Joseph II reigns Austria
Co‐regent of Austria with his mother Maria Theresa from 1765 and sole ruler from 1780 to 1790. -
Battle of Yorktown
The final battle of the American Revolution. -
Treaty of Paris
To officially end the American Revolution. -
US Constitution ratified
Its first three words “We The People” affirm that the government of the United States exists to serve its citizens. -
Declaration of the Rights of Man
17 articles that set out the “natural and inalienable” rights, which are freedom, ownership, security, and resistance to oppression; it recognizes equality before the law and the justice system and affirms the principle of separation of powers. -
Storming of the Bastille
Revolutionary insurgents attempted to storm and seize control of the medieval armory, fortress, and political prison known as the Bastille. -
Tennis Court Oath
The Tennis Court Oath was a key moment that set off the French Revolution. -
Women’s march on Versailles
The Women's March on Versailles was a riot that took place during this first stage of the French Revolution. -
Declaration of the Rights of Woman
Stated that women, like their male counterparts, have natural, inalienable, and sacred rights. Those rights, as well as the related duties and responsibilities to society, are outlined in the remainder of the document. -
Mary Wollstonecraft publishes “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman”
Mary Wollstonecraft publishes “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman” for a pioneering and durably influential argument for women's equality. -
National Convention Formed
The National Convention was established during the French Revolution to replace the previous legislative bodies after the end of the monarchy. -
Period: to
Radical Phase (French Revolution)
France was made a republic, abolishing the monarchy and executing the king. -
Committee of Public Safety created
It was the first effective executive government of the Revolutionary period and governed France during the most critical year of the Revolution. -
Period: to
Reign of Terror (French Revolution)
A period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place. -
Period: to
Reign of Terror (French Revolution)
The period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to the revolution. -
Period: to
Five Man Directory created
It was the governing five-member committee in the French First Republic. -
Napoleon Bonaparte becomes Emperor
He became Emperor of the French under the name of Napoleon I. -
Battle Austerlitz
Battle Austerlitz, also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of the most important military engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. -
Battle of Trafalgar
A naval engagement with the British Royal Navy, and fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the Napoleonic Wars. -
Napoleon exiled to Elba
He was exiled to the island of Elba, between Corsica and Italy. -
Period: to
Congress of Vienna
Reorganized Europe after the Napoleonic Wars. -
Napoleon exiled to St. Helena
Napoleon had been exiled to St. Helena after he was defeated by the British at the Battle of Waterloo. -
Battle of Leipzig
The Battle of Leipzig, also known as the Battle of the Nations, was the beginning of the downfall of Napoleon.