The timeline of events that had the greatest impact in shaping modern times
DateEvent
1375The beginning of Italian Renaissance
1378The Western Schism or Papal Schism
1381Peasants' Revolt in England.
1409 Council of Pisa attempted to end the Western Schism.
1417The Council of Constance puts an end to the Western Schism.
1419Prince Henry the Navigator founded a navigation school on the southwestern coast of Portugal.
1441First documented black African slaves imported into Europe.
1445-1450Gutenberg invents the printing press, movable metal type, and an oil-based ink.
1453The fall of Constantinople influenced European trade links by land with Asia.
1453The Hundred Years' War ends.
1488Bartolomeu Dias was the first to sail around the south coast of Africa and up along the east coast.
1492Reconquista ends. Marks end of Moorish/Muslim rule within Iberian Peninsula; Unification of Spain and Portugal, respectively.
1492Columbus discovered America
1497, 1499, 1501Amerigo Vespucci explored up and down the coast of South America. America was named after him.
1497Vasco de Gama was the first European to sail around the south of Africa and reach India.
1497John Cabot claimed coastal lands in present day Canada and U.S. for England and founded colonies.
1502First reported African slaves in the New World.
1517The Protestant Reformation begins when Martin Luther posts his 95 Theses in Saxony.
(1519-1521)Hernan Cortes conquered the rich Aztec Empire in Mexico.
1530A separate Lutheran church finally emerged.
1531-1532The Church of England breaks away from the Roman Catholic Church and recognizes King Henry VIII as the head of the Church.
1550-1850The Little Ice Age strikes Europe. After the Medieval Warming Period, when climate was ideal for raising grains in Europe, temperatures start to fall, and with them the fortunes of many in Europe. Crops fail and many starve and freeze to death.
during most of the 1550'sDeaths outnumbered births due to influenza epidemic and the Black Death caused by malnutrition.
1570One of the storms that caused greater than 100,000 deaths was reported.
1585The Anglo-Spanish War begins and is fought on both sides of the Atlantic.
15881588-Elizabeth's navy defeats the Spanish Armada (Cervantes's employer) making England one of the most powerful nations in the world
1604The Treaty of London was signed by England and Spain.
1636Harvard University is founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
1642The English Civil War started between Parliamentarians and Royalists.
1642Theatres close, will not reopen until the Restoration period (1660).
1649The Commonwealth of England, the republic, was established.
1650The Act of Uniformity was repealed in 1650
1658Oliver Cromwell rule over the Protectorate as Lord Protector (effectively a military dictator) ended with his death
1661Charles II’s coronation took place at Westminster Abbey. This started the period of Restoration.
1750The Industrial Revolution begins.
1756The rediscovery of concrete takes place.
the mid-1750s Abraham Darby II built Horsehay and Ketley furnaces using coke pig iron.
1756 Seven Years' War for colonies begins.
1759French were defeated at Quebec.
By 1760The British controlled all of the North American frontier.
1763Signing the Treaty of Paris, which made Britain the world’s leading colonial power.
1775The American Revolution starts.
1776The United States of America declared the independence of a new sovereign nation.
1783The Treaty of Paris ended the war and recognized the sovereignty of the United States.
1789George Washington elected President of the United States. Served until 1797.
References
Duiker WJ, Spielvogel JJ 2006, World History, 4th edn, Wadsworth …