Early Modern Timeline
- Christopher Columbus set sail from Palos, Spain on Friday, August 3, 1492, with his fleet of three ships--the Nina, Pinta and the Santa Maria.
- On October 12, he made landfall on what he quickly named San Salvador. He believed he was on a small, Asian island and proceeded onward to Cuba, believing it to be Japan, then Hispanola (which was really Haiti and the Dominican Republic).
- Christopher Columbus established a small colony and returned to Spain with goods and captives.
- Began when the Portuguese interests in Africa moved away from gold to a much more readily available commodity-- slaves.
- By the 17th century the trade was in full swing, reaching a peak towards the end of the 18th century.
- Slaves were viewed as property and were sold at markets with other goods.
- Martin Luther was one of Western history's most significant figures.
- He spent his early years as a monk and scholar.
- In 1517, Luther penned a document attacking the Catholic Church's corrupt practice of selling "indulgences" absolve his sin.
- His "95 Theses" propounded two central beliefs
- The Bible is the central religious authority
- Humans may reach salvation only by their faith and not by deeds
- All these things helped to spark the Protestant Reformation
- King Henry VIII wanted a male heir and his wife Catherine, at the age of 40, was too old to have a male heir, so Henry seeked an annulment
- The Pope refused to grant him a divorce
- Henry VIII established the Church of England where divorce is acceptable and he was the head of the church and state.
- Jamestown, named after the King James I, was the first permanent English settlement in North America on the banks of the James River.
- Originally called the "James Fort"
- Established by the Virginia Company of London.
- They sent three ships and three objectives by the king.
- Find gold
- Find a route to the South Seas
- Find the Lost Colony of Roanoke
- Reign of 72 years and 110 days is one of the longest in French and European history.
- During his time as king, the country changed drastically from savage medieval ways to a more refined exquisite living.
- Palace of Versailles
- Sought to eliminate feudalism in the remaining parts of France.
- Wanted to "westernize" Russia, make it more modern and European-like.
- Brought over new technology, improved schools, modernized the army/navy, reformed the government, and decreased the power of the church.
- Also enforced more western styles of dress and customs.
- Peter's crowning achievement was St. Petersburg (construction of this elaborate and expensive city would span 200 years).
Beginning of the Atlantic Slave Trade
1500s
Vasco de Gama's Voyage to India
1497-1499
- Vasco de Gama, a Portuguese explorer, is famous for his completion of the first all water trade route between Europe and India.
- His voyage paved the way for the Portuguese to establish a long lasting colonial empire in Asia.
- He sailed around Africa and landed in Calicut on May 20th 1498.
Martin Luther's 95 Theses
1517
1450-1750
Ming Dynasty Begins in China
1368-1644
- Founded by Zhu Yuanzhang
- Followed by collapse of Mongol-Yuan Dynasty
- The Ming became one of the most stable but also one of the most autocratic of all Chinese dynasties.
- The civil service system was perfected during the Ming and then became stratified
- Was known as the Era of international trade and the growth in importance of urban economies centers.
- Dynasty ended on January 22, 1662
Founding of the Ottoman Empire
1453 (Was a state since 1299)
Magellan's Journey
1519-1522
Treaty of Tordesillas
June 7th, 1494
- Founded with the conquest of Constantinople by Mehmed II in 1453
- The Ottoman State then became an empire
- FOUNDER of the Empire was Osman I
- The reign of the long-lived Ottoman dynasty lasted for 623 years from 1299-1922 (when monarchy of Turkey was abolished).
- It covered parts of Asia, Europe, and Africa at its peak
- Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese navigator.
- His voyage turned out to be the first circumnavigation of the world.
- Magellan sailed across the Atlantic Ocean, around South America and across the Pacific Ocean.
- The Strait of Magellan was named after him.
- He himself did not complete the voyage because he was killed by natives in the Philippine Islands but his crew did(Magellan still credited).
- The Treaty of Tordesillas was agreed upon by the Spanish and Portuguese to clear up confusion on newly claimed land in the New World.
- In May of 1494, Pope Alexander VI issued a decree
- It established an imaginary line runnig north and south through the mid-Atlantic.
- Spain would have possession of any unclaimed territories to the west of the line and portugal the east.
- After further exploration, Portugal became dissatisfied with the agreement when they realized how much more land Spain had been given.
- In June that year, the line was negotiated and the agreement was ratified in the Spanish town of Tordesillas.
Great Britian abolishes slavery in the West Indies (Caribbean)
1883
- Ended slavey with the Slavery Abolition Act
- Slaves were not sold, but still held in British Empire
- On August 28, 1833, the Act was given the Royal Asset and all slavers were emancipated the following year.
Russians win independence from Mongols
1480
Start of the Anglican Church (Church of England) 1534
- Ivan II led the Russians to their independence from the Mongols.
- He gave his government a military focus and used a blend of nationalism and the Orthodox Christian religion to succeed by 1480, in creating a large independent state.
- Afterwards, the Russians pushed eastward.
- During the 1600s, Peter I, the Great added a new interest in changing the economy and culture through imitation of western forms (Westernization).
First Europeans land in the "New World"
1492
Life of Peter the Great
1672-1725
- Ever since the Portuguese arrived in Japan in 1543, Western civilization (trading goods, weapons and Christianity) flowed into Japan extremely fast.
- The Tokugawa Shogunate government, fearful of their domestic enemies gaining power through trading with the West, closed the nation to the rest of the world in 1639.
- This was known as the "National Seclusion Policy."
- Christianity was automatically banned in Japan until 1854.
First British Colony settled in North America
1607
Christianity banned in Japan
1639
Reign of King Louis XIV
1643-1715