1500 to 1800 AD

Age of Exploration

· In the 1200s the compass and charting are first used.

· By the 1300s, ships have adopted the stern-post rudder, and by 1500 improvements in sails and rigging have made multiple-mast ships possible. These advances in ship design allow long-distance sailing.

· 1406 Ptolemy's geography is introduced in Europe.

· 1418–1460 Portugal's Prince Henry the Navigator sponsors exploration of Africa's coast. The Portuguese found valuable sources of pepper in West Africa. 1432 Portuguese discover the Azores, reach Cape Verde. 1445 Portuguese explore West Africa, reach Senegal, and reestablish slave trade. 1450 Henry establishes a Naval observatory for the teaching of navigation, astronomy, and cartography. 1455 A papal Bull recognizes the Portugese monopoly of African Exploration

· 1450 Invention of the printing press spurs wide distribution of navigation tables and ship plans.

· 1453 Turks overrun Constantinople, shutting off the overland trade route.

· 1455-1457 Cadamosto, Venetian sailor, explores West Africa including the Senegal and Gambia rivers, and discovers the Cape Verde Island

· 1470-84 Portuguese explorations discover Africa's Gold Coast and the Congo River.

· 1488 Portugese sailor Bartholomeu Dias rounds the Cape of Good Hope.

· 1492 Christopher Columbus, a Genoese sailing for Ferdinand and Isabella of Castille & Aragorn, after sailing 69 days discovers America (the island of Dominica in the Bahamas, and Cuba), returns to Spain (1493). Second voyage to Dominica, Jamaica, Puerto Rico (1493–1496). Third voyage to Orinoco (1498). Fourth voyage to Honduras and Panama (1502–1504). Dies in poverty 1506.

· 1494 The Treaty of Tordesillas divides the world between Spain and Portugal for the alleged purpose of spreading Christianity.

· 1497-98 Vasco da Gama rounds the Cape of Good Hope and reaches India. Establishes Portuguese colony in India (1502). 1505 Portugese trading posts are established on the Malabar coast.

· 1497 Italian John Cabot discovers Newfoundland for England

· 1499 Amerigo Vespucci discovers South America. 1500 Pedro Cabral claims Brazil for Portugal. 1501-1502 Vespucci explores the coast of Brazil, proposes that the land is a new continent, which is named America by German mapmaker Martin Waldseemuller in 1507

· 1504 Venice proposes a Suez Canal to the Sultan of Turkey.

· 1505 Portugese claim Mozambique

· 1509 Portugal destroyed the Arab fleet at Diu (modern India) taking control of Arab trade routes in the Indian Ocean

· 1511 Portugal defeats the Arabs in the naval battle at the Straits of Sunda between Java and Borneo, controling the Spice Islands

· 1513 The Portugese reach Canton

· 1513 Balboa journeys through the isthmus of Panama to become the first European to encounter the Pacific Ocean. The region of Panama becomes the first settled area and first Spanish jurisdiction on the New World.

· 1515 The fur trade becomes a major economic force throughout North America.

· 1516 The Portugese sail directly to China for the first time and settle in Canton. They are expelled by 1522 however. They are turned out of Ningpo in 1542.

· 1519-1521 Hernando Cortes conquers Mexico for Spain. He arrived in Mexico from Spain, and burnt his boats to make return impossible and break relations with his superiors. He founded Vera Cruz, then marches inland and conquers the Aztecs.

· 1519-1522 Ferdinand Magellan begins his journey to circumnavigate the world with five ships and 270 men. 1520 Magellan reaches the Pacific, 1521 he is killed by Philippine natives. 1522 One of his ships under Sebastián del Cano reaches Spain with 17 men.

· 1524 Verrazano, sailing under the French flag, explores the New England coast and New York Bay.

· 1531-1533 Franciso Pizzaro conquers Peru with 200 Spanish mercenaries. Helped by guns and an Inca civil war, Pizarro captures the Inca emperor Atahualpa, holds him for ransom, then strangles him. Inca rebellions persist for 30 years.

· 1534 Jacques Cartier enters the St. Lawrence River. Land in Great Lakes claimed for France.

· 1535-1537 Spaniards explore Chile

· 1540 Francisco Vásquez de Coronado searches for the legendary wealth of the Seven Cities of Cibola—actually Zuni villages—but finds no treasure there or elsewhere in the Southwest.

· 1541 Hernando de Soto discovers the Mississippi River

· 1557 Portugese settle Macao in China, the first permanent European settlement. The first Christian missionaries arrive in 1575, and the Jesuits become influential in the court of the Ming emperors.

· 1567 Rio de Janeiro founded by Portugese in Brazil

· 1577-1580 Sir Francis Drake circumnavigates the globe.

· 1585 An English settlement is established on Roanoke Island, North Carolina. Colonist John White makes an important series of watercolor drawings of people and places.

· 1586 Expedition of Sir Francis Drake to the West Indies

· 1598 Spanish settlers under Juan de Oñate, searching for precious metals, occupy San Juan Pueblo in the Río Grande valley of New Mexico. Franciscan missionaries are active.

· 1600 English East India Company established. 1602 Dutch East India Company founded. 1604 French East India Company

· 1603 Samuel de Champlain explores the St Lawrence River. 1608 founds Quebec

· 1606 Dutch navigator William Jansz sights Australia

· 1607-9 Henry Hudson explores present-day New York and Hudson River and claims them for the Dutch. 1610 Discovers Hudson Bay.

· 1607 Colony of Virginia is founded at Jamestown by John Smith

· 1616 Dutch navigator William Schouten rounds Cape Horn

· 1621 Dutch West Indies Company founded.

· 1642 Abel Tasman discovers Tasmania

· 1669 William Dampier sails along the northwest coast of Australia

· 1681-1682 Sieur de la Salle explores the Mississippi River. 1685-1687 LaSalle sails along the Gulf Coast from the Mississippi to Matagorda Bay, where his ship is wrecked. He then marches by ground to the Trinity River where he is murdered by his own men.

· 1722 Dutch navigator Jacob Roggeveen discovers Samoa and Easter Island

· 1768 - 1779 James Cook begins 3 Pacific explorations, documents location of Australia, lands in New Zealand, lands at Botany Bay in Australia, explores Hawaiian Islands. He fails to locate Northwest Passage from Alaskan side. 1779 Cook killed in Hawaii.

· In the 1600s 250,000 English emigrated to the New World, and in the 1700s 1.5 million, along with 200,000 Germans by 1800, and 100,000 Spanish and Portugese to Central and South America.

Science & Technology

The Scientific Revolution

· Begins in the late 1500s and 1600s with establishment of the Scientific method – that natural laws could be derived from experiment and observation, with practical results. Begins in astronomy and physics.

· The spread of scientific knowledge was helped by the invention of the printing press in the 1400s

· The findings of Copernicus, Galileo, and others contradict Church doctrine and Aristotle, leading to a conflict between theology and science at the same time that the Counter-Reformation is occuring

· 1657 The first scientific society is formed in Florence. The English Royal Society receives its charter in 1662, and its Philosophical Transactions begins in 1665 – the first scientific journal. From this point royal patronage of scientists is commonly accepted.

· 1700s The Enlightenment is the term given in Europe for the growth of Reason and loss of superstition in educated thought during this period. Embodiments include Voltaire and the Encyclopedists.

· 1795 The metric system is developed in France as a standard system of measurements for scientific work

Physics & Astronomy

· 1543 Polish scholar Nicolaus Copernicus publishes On the Revolution of Heavenly Bodies —giving his theory that the earth revolves around the sun. This opposes the Ptolemaic theory of church doctrine.

· 1564-1642 Galileo Galilei

· 1590 Galileo's experiments with falling objects showed that all objects dropped from the same height accelerated at the same rate regardless of their weight. This opposed Aristotle’s doctrine that heavier objects fell faster.

· 1610 Galileo sees the moons of Jupiter (the Medici stars) through his own telescope. He is the first to use the telescope to investigate the heavens. This contradicts Aristotle on several points: moons orbiting Jupiter, existence of sunspots, craters on the Moon, millions more stars than expected, Venus waxing and waning as it orbited the Sun, supporting Copernicus.

· 1633 The Inquisition forces Galileo to recant his belief in Copernican theory – he is sentenced to house arrest in Tuscany.

· 1609-1618 Johannes Kepler proposes laws of planetary motion.

· 1643-1727 Isaac Newton

· Newton was the first to show that the motion of objects on Earth and of celestial bodies are governed by the same set of natural laws, namely gravity.

· 1674 Multiple-lens microscope developed by Dutch scientist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (Single-lens microscopes were used as early as the mid-1400s).

· 1687 Isaac Newton publishes his Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, better known as the "Principia", considered to be one of the greatest scientific books of all time, in which he gave his Three Laws of Motion and the Law of Universal Gravitation

Electricity

· 1790 Aloisio Galvani describes contact electricity

· 1790s Battery developed by Alessandro Volta

Chemistry

· 1662 Boyle describes the physical properties of gases

· 1771 Carl Scheele discovers oxygen. 1772 Joseph Priestley and Daniel Rutherford independently discover nitrogen.

· 1790 Lavoisier formulates Table of 31 chemical elements.

Time-Keeping

· 1500 Watches, portable spring driven clocks, invented by German locksmith named Peter Henlein (wrist watches do not appear until after WWI)

· 1582 Gregorian calendar: Pope Gregory XIII shortened October of 1582 by ten days & ruled that any year whose number ended with 00 must also be evenly divisible by 400 in order to have a 29-day February (not adopted by Britain and colonies until 1752)

· 1657 Huygens develops the pendulum clock

· 1674 Spring watches are built by Christian Huygens in the Netherlands

Mathematics

· 1513 Plus and minus signs are used in Europe by merchants to mark sacks of goods: + (surplus); - (less). The equal sign (=) is developed in 1557. 1631 The multiplication sign (x) is used in Europe

· 1621 The Slide Rule is invented in England

· 1637 Rene Descartes develops analytical geometry

· 1642 Blaise Pascal develops the adding machine

· 1665 Isaac Newton develops calculus

· 1684 Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz's calculus published. 1673 Leibniz’ calculating machine.

Agriculture and Food Production

· 1500s Land is enclosed for sheep in England

· 1500s Tobacco, pineapples, tomatoes (1534), chocolate, peanuts, sunflowers, chili peppers and beans are introduced to Europe from the New World. Spain took sugarcane to Cuba (1523) and wheat to Mexico (1528).

· 1500s Various foods are passed from Asia to Europe including nutmeg (from China), obergine (eggplant, from India) and ice cream. Coffee reaches Europe after the Siege of Vienna by the Ottoman Empire. In England, sugar arrived in 1460; green peas in 1514.

· 1600s The potato, corn, and turkeys are introduced into Europe from the New World

· 1701 The Berkshire farmer Jethro Tull devised a simple seed drill based on organ pipes, which resulted in eight times as many grains harvested for every grain sown.

· 1796 The threshing machine was invented by Scottish mechanical engineer Andrew Meikle for the separation of grain from stalks and husks. It was greeted by riots.

Mechanics/Industry

· 1600s Blast furnaces used to cast iron are spread through Europe

· 1635 The coal burning oven is invented in England

· 1663 Otto van Guernicke develops the air pump

· 1698 Savery Steam engine: Thomas Savery patented a pump with hand-operated valves to raise water from mines by suction produced by condensing steam.

· 1700 Coal replaces wood as the most commonly used fuel

· 1712 Newcomen Steam engine: Thomas Newcomen developed a more efficient steam engine with a piston separating the condensing steam from the water

· 1733 The Flying Shuttle enabled weavers to produce cloth more quickly

· 1769 James Watt greatly improved the Newcomen engine by adding a separate condenser to avoid heating and cooling the cylinder with each stroke. Watt then developed a new engine that rotated a shaft instead of providing the simple up-and-down motion of the pump, and he added many other improvements to produce a practical power plant

· 1769 Sir William Arkwright patents a spinning machine—an early step in the Industrial Revolution.

· 1793 Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin

Transportation

· Mid-1400s The canal-lock is developed. By the 1700s England is laced with a network of canals, facilitating the Industrial Revolution.

· 1714 John Harrison, a self-taught watchmaker determines how ships could calculate their longitude.

· 1700s The road building method of Scotsman John McAdam – called macadam – greatly speeds travel.

· 1757 The sextant is invented in England

Medicine

· 1493–1541 Swiss physician Philippus Aureolus Paracelsus rejects the prevalent medical belief of his time that physical illnesses are caused by an imbalance of the body's four "humors" (melancholic, choleric, sanguine, and phlegmatic). He proposes instead that the body is weakened by external conditions and toxic agents, and may be treated with a number of chemical remedies.

· 1618 William Harvey describes the circulation of the blood

· 1796 Smallpox vaccination using cowpox is developed by Dr. Edward Jenner

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Economics

· Capitalism and international trade gradually grow. Self-sufficient estates and towns become enmeshed in a trade network, and the Age of Discovery begins intercontinental trade.

· Mercantilism is the most common economic policy for European countries. It holds that countries should aim to export more than they import, in order to accumulate gold and silver. It is dominant until Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations is published in 1776.

· The commercial center of Europe moves from Venice (which is gradually eclipsed) and Italy to the Netherlands, England, and the Baltic for several reasons: the fall of Constantinople reduces Mediterranean trade routes, the new trade routes of the Atlantic and Pacific open up, the influx of American silver, and political troubles in Italy. Antwerp, the center of the 1500s, is overtaken by London and Amsterdam in the 1600s. The Dutch originally supply salted herring to Europe, then control the Baltic, then control international trade with trading posts around the world. The English grow to rival them, initially by supplying cod caught off Newfoundland, which was eaten on Fridays in Catholic markets.

Exploration and Colonization

· Imports from the New World included: tobacco, sugar, cotton, potatoes, corn, wheat. Exports to the New World: manufactured goods, slaves. Imports from the Far East included: tea, silk, porcelain.

· 1441 The slave trade is begun by the Portuguese, initially slaves are sold in Lisbon. In the 1500s and 1600s the trade shifts to Brazil and North America.

Banks and Corporations

· 1500s Inflation develops in Europe, with prices rising 400% in 100 years, aggravated by the arrival of gold from the Spanish colonies in America. As a result rents are increased and real wages fall.

· 1500s The Portuguese settle trading posts in Africa, India, China, and the Spice Islands. After supplanting the Arabs, they dominate not only European-Asian trade, but trade within Asia. By the 1550s the Portuguese have sugar plantations in Brazil run with slave labor. The Portuguese found valuable sources of pepper in West Africa

· 1530s – 1630s Enclosures in England. Landowners evict their tenants to enclose their lands for sheepherding as the English textile industry grows. The evicted peasants move to London and the New World

· 1531 The first modern stock exchange is established in Antwerp

· 1553 The first stock company in England, the Russia Company, is formed

· 1600s: 1600 English East India Company established. 1602 Dutch East India Company founded. 1604 French East India Company.

· 1601 Sweden was the first country in Europe to have paper money

· 1600s The Bank of Amsterdam becomes an international economic force.

· 1694 The Bank of England is founded. The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom

· 1700s Paper currency and bank checks are spread throughout Europe

Pre-Industrialization

· Coal: Coal becomes widely-used during the Middle Ages, coal is firmly established as a domestic fuel by the 1570s. By that time, production in England was high enough that exports were thriving.

· Putting-out system: An entrepreneur would supply home-workers with raw materials and then pay them for completed work.

· 1733 The flying shuttle makes weaving much faster. 1764 The spinning jenny accelerates the spinning of thread.

· 1780s Because of mechanization, the putting-out system is replaced by factory production where workers work in a centralized location with the necessary equipment.

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Arts

The Renaissance, 1400s-1500s

· Begins in northern Italian city-states, a result of discovery of Roman and (later) Greek art and literature, and “humanism” – focusing on human affairs instead of theology. Later spreads to northern Europe.

The Baroque period, 1600s

· Characterized by highly ornamental works.

The Enlightenment, 1700s

· The term given in Europe for the growth of Reason and loss of superstition in educated thought during this period, influenced by the Scientific Revolution. Embodiments include Voltaire and the Encyclopedists.

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Christianity

Protestant Reformation

· 1517 Martin Luther, professor of theology at the University of Wittenberg, nails his 95 Theses against the selling indulgences, spread by printing press. 1520 Luther excommunicated by Leo X (Luther publicly burns the Papal Bull). He takes refuge at the castle of Elector Frederick III the Wise of Saxony, where he completes a German translation of the New Testament. In 1521 the Emperor Charles V places him under an Imperial Ban, and he remains a fugitive until he dies in 1546.

· 1519 Ulrich Zwingli begins Reformation in Switzerland.

· 1520s-1600 Considering religious images idolatrous, Protestants stir a wave of iconoclasm that persists until the Counter-Reformation at the century's end; thousands of artworks are destroyed

· 1535 English Reformation begins as Henry VIII makes himself head of English Church after being excommunicated by Pope Clement VII. 1553 Roman Catholicism restored by Queen Mary I. 1558 Queen Elizabeth I restores Protestantism, establishes state Church of England (Anglicanism). 1570 Elizabeth excommunicated by the Pope.

· 1536 John Calvin (born Jean Cauvin) begins the Protestant movement in France. Calvinism ends up supplanting Lutheranism except in Germany and Scandinavia.

· 1540 St Ignatius of Loyola, writes the Spiritual Exercises, founds of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) who become “soldiers” for missions in New World and Counter-Reformation. Stress education. Vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience to Pope.

· 1541 John Knox leads a Calvinist Reformation in Scotland, establishes Presbyterian Church there (1560).

· 1545-1563 Pope Paul III calls Council of Trent to meet intermittently to define Catholic dogma and doctrine, reiterate papal authority, the “Counter-Reformation”. Establishes the Roman Inquisition as the final court of appeal for heresy trials, makes weekly attendance at mass compulsory, establishes the Index of banned books, ended the selling of indulgences.

· 1549 Jesuit priest St Francis Xavier introduces Christianity into Japan. Partially motivated by a desire for Western firearms and goods, some provincial warlords convert.

· 1555 The Peace of Augsburg establishes that the religion of each state of the Holy Roman Empire is to be determined by its ruler

· 1561-1598 Intermittent Persecution of Huguenots (Protestants) in France until the Edict of Nantes grants them freedom to worship.

· 1605 Venice, which had held out from the Counter-Reformation, refusing to acknowledge the Index, and laid under papal interdict, expels the Jesuits.

· 1685 In France, Edict of Nantes, granting freedom of worship to Huguenots, is revoked by Louis XIV.

· 1739 John Wesley founds Methodism. 1784 John Wesley's Deed of Declaration, the basic work of Methodism.

· 1764 Expulsion of the Jesuits from France. 1773 Pope Clement XIV dissolves the Jesuit order under pressure from the Bourbon kings.

· 1790 John Carroll becomes the first Catholic Bishop consecrated in the United States

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North America

United States

· The Native Americans were Neolithic, using stone tools but not metals, and practiced slash-and-burn agriculture

· 1492 Columbus discovers America.

· 1534 Jacques Cartier enters the St. Lawrence River. Land in Great Lakes claimed for France

· 1540-1542 Coronado leads an expeditionary force through the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles

· 1565 St. Augustine, Florida founded

· 1584 Sir Walter Raleigh sends out a colonizing expedition of 100 men who settle on Roanoke Island. Sir Francis Drake later takes the colonists back to England at their request. 1587 Raleigh sends out a fresh colony of 117 men, women, and children. 1590 White returns to find that settlers have disappeared, leaving "Croatoan" carved on a tree

· 1606 The Virginia Company charter is given by King James I to a group of London merchants. 1607 Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in America, is established 1607-9 Henry Hudson explores present-day New York and Hudson River and claims them for the Dutch.

· 1609 Samuel de Champlain establishes the French colony of Quebec.

· 1612 John Rolfe imports tobacco seeds from the West Indies to Virginia. 1619 The first African slaves are brought to Jamestown.

· 1620 The Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts is established by Pilgrims from England

· 1632 Maryland founded by Lord Baltimore (Cecil Calvert). 1633 Connecticut founded. 1636 Founding of Providence, Rhode Island

· 1664 New Amsterdam becomes New York after the Dutch surrender to English forces.

· 1681 William Penn receives a charter for land on which he will found Pennsylvania.

· 1718 French found New Orleans. 1720 The French build forts on the Mississippi, the St. Lawrence, and the Niagara rivers.

· 1764 Sugar Act. 1765 Quartering Act 1765 Stamp Act.

· 1770 Boston Massacre.

· 1773 Boston Tea Party.

· 1774 The Quebec Act extends Canada’s boundary south to the Ohio and protects Catholics, stirring resentment in the colonies

· 1774 The First Continental Congress.

War of Independence (1775-1783)

· 4/19/1775 Battles of Lexington and Concord.

· 5/10/1775 The Second Continental Congress

· 7/4/1776 Declaration of Independence

· 1781 The Articles of Confederation Are Ratified. Congress assumed a new title, "The United States in Congress Assembled."

· 1781 The Battle of Yorktown. French and American forces attacked British fortifications. With this defeat, Britain lost hope of winning the war.

· 1782 Treaty of Versailles called for Britain to recognize American independence

· 1787 The Constitutional Convention

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Central & South America

· 1492 Christopher Columbus discovers America

· 1494 The Treaty of Tordesillas divides the Americas between Spain and Portugal

· 1500 Pedro Cabral claims Brazil for Portugal. 1501-1502 Amerigo Vespucci explores the coast of Brazil,

· 1500s Spain and Portugal claim most of central and South America. They are able to conquer the Aztec and Inca empires partly by exploiting existing tribal enmities, by their gunpower, but mostly through the spread of European diseases, like smallpox, to which the Indians carried no immunity. Populations fall by 75%. In addition to gold-hungry conquistadores searching for the mythical city of El Dorado, who use slave labor to run their new estates, missionaries are sent to spread Christianity. The priests occasionally fought for better treatment of the Native Americans. The Spaniards gradually intermarry with the Native Americans, but the ruling class primarily came from those of Spanish descent.

· 1519 Hernando Cortes conquers Mexico for Spain. He kills the Aztec emperor Montezuma, who had mistaken him for an Aztec god who was white, bearded, and expected to return “from the east”.

· 1531-1533 Franciso Pizzaro conquers Peru with 200 Spanish mercenaries. Helped by guns and an Inca civil war, Pizarro captures the Inca emperor Atahualpa, holds him for ransom, then strangles him. Inca rebellions persist for 30 years. The Spaniards take the Inca capital of Cusco and in 1537 the Inca kings withdraw to the mountains to wage guerilla warfare against them.

• 1541 Pizarro is murdered by Spaniard's seeking to create their own chain of power in Peru. The assassins fled to the Incan king Manco Inca, who welcomed the hated Pizarro's killers. In 1544 when Manco Inca's troops were busy raiding, the assassins killed the Inca king, stabbing him from behind. He lived long enough to hear that his attackers, cornered in a building that had been set on fire, were either burned alive or were killed attempting to flee the flames. 

· 1535-1537 Spaniards explore Chile

· 1567 Rio de Janeiro is founded by Portuguese in Brazil. Brazil becomes the largest importer of African slaves to work the sugar plantations.

· 1572 250 Spanish fighters set out from Cusco to capture Tupac Amaru, the last Inca king. They discovered the city burned and the king gone. After pursuing him for more then 300 miles into the Amazon, they caught him, put him on trial in Cusco, and beheaded him. With his death the mighty Inca reign ended.

· 1654 Portugal takes Brazil from the Dutch

· 1655 England seizes Jamaica from Spain

· 1739 England captures Porto Bello in the West Indies from Spain

· 1776 Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata formed by Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay

· 1780-1783 Peruvian Indians revolt against Spain

· 1791 Pierre Dominique Toussaint-Breada, “L’Ouverture” (so nicknamed because he found openings in enemy lines), is encouraged by revolutionaries from France and leads a slave revolt in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, which is renamed Haiti. Revolt ends when France abolishes slavery in 1793. Toussaint changed sides and supported France. After a civil war he seized power in 1801. 1802 Napoleon conquers Haiti and reimposes slavery. Toussaint is taken to France where he dies in captivity. 1804 Haiti becomes independent.

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Europe

1648

International Politics and Conflicts

· In England and the Netherlands, feudalism becomes extinct (although landowners still charge rent), but it persists on the Continent. In England, the nobles are a small group (only 200 in the House of Lords), with no special privileges except to be called to Parliament. Below this is a large group of non-noble landowning “gentlemen”, followed by rich merchants. Most of the working class are wage-laborers. In France before 1789 (as elsewhere in the Continent) there are 250,000 nobles with specific legal privileges. In Eastern Europe and Russia serfdom remains very much entrenched.

· International diplomacy develops, as nation-states become defined. Resident ambassadors, protected by immunity, become the norm (replacing the occasional “herald” sent between kings), and the rules of treaties become generally accepted.

· By the 1600s France supplants Spain as the chief European power. In the 1700s Great Britain (after 1707) rises in prominence, peaking in the 1800s.

· Most modern national boundaries are settled by 1715.

· Overseas Empires and trade disputes lead to frequent conflict.

· Territorial disputes after the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Rise of Russia dominate Eastern Europe.

· 1600-1700s In some states, notably France, kings gain power and institute “absolute monarchies”

· 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas As tensions mount between Spain and Portugal, Pope Alexander VI arranges the treaty which places an imaginary dividing line through the Atlantic Ocean. Spain is given territory west of this line, while Portugal is granted the territories to the east.

Hapsburg-Valois (Italian) Wars, 1494-1559

· Series of conflicts from 1494 to 1559 over Naples, Milan, and Genoa that involved, at various times France, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, Venice, England, the Ottomans and the Papacy in various and shifting alliances. In the end Sicily and Milan are granted to Habsburg Spain, which had become the premier power of Europe, over France. The city-states of Italy were reduced to second-rate powers.

· 1501-1522 Russia and Poland at war.

· 1557-1582 Livonian Wars. Involve Poland, Russia, Sweden and Denmark

· 1570 Ottomans war on Venice.

· 1587-1588 England at war with Spain.

· 1593-1606 War between Austria and the Ottomans.

Thirty Years' War (1618-1648)

· The Thirty Years' War was fought principally in Germany, and involved most of the major European powers. Although it was from the outset a religious conflict between Protestants and Catholics, the rivalry between the Habsburgs and other powers was also a central motive, as shown by the fact that Catholic France supported the Protestant side against the Hapsburgs. 8 milllion people die, mostly from famine and disease.

· 1648 Treaty of Westphalia ends the Thirty Years' War. France wins Alsace and Lorraine. Dutch and Swiss republics recognized as independent. Religious pluralism of the Holy Roman Empire is confirmed. Outsiders – France, Sweden, Denmark, intervene in German affairs. The Hapsburgs decline in power both in the Holy Roman Empire and Spain – from which both Portugal and the Netherlands declare independence. The Hapsburgs’ power in Germany is replaced by independent princely states. France becomes the predominant European power. It was also the last major religious war in Europe.

· 1683-1699 War of European powers against the Turks.

· 1689-1697 War of the League of Augsburg (King William’s War).

· 1700-1721 Great Northern War. Confirms Russia’s dominance over Sweden.

War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1713): Britain, Netherlands, and Austria against France, Spain, Bavaria, and Savoy. Called Queen Anne's War in America

· British take New Foundland, Acadia, and Hudson's Bay Territory from France, and Gibraltar and Minorca from Spain. Austria wins the Spanish Netherlands..

War of Austrian Succession (1740-1748): Austria, Britain, and the Netherlands against Prussia, France, Bavaria, Poland, and Spain.

Seven Years War (1756-1763): Britain and Prussia against France, Spain, Austria, Sweden and Russia. Known as the French-Indian War in America

· France cedes Canada and most of its Indian colonies to the British; Spain cedes Florida to Britain in exchange for Cuba. Spain receives Louisiana and Minorca.

· The outcome of the war was the end of France’s power in the Americas (having only French Guiana, Saint-Domingue, and Saint Pierre and Miquelon left to them) and the emergence of Great Britain as the dominant colonial power in the world. France's navy would never again be at near equal terms with the British Royal Navy and the British East India Company acquired the strongest position within India

Napoleonic Wars

War of the First Coalition (1792–1797): Austria, Prussia, Britain, Spain, and the Netherlands against France.

· 1798 Napoleon conquers Rome, founds the Roman Republic. Founds the Helvetic Republic in Switzerland. 1798-1799 Napoleon invades Egypt, at the Battle of the Pyramids takes Cairo. Battle of the Nile: British fleet under Horatio Nelson defeats the French.

· 1799 Napoleon invades Syria, sieges Jaffa and Acre, held by the Turks. French take Naples. Pope brought to France. Russia and Austria evacuate Switzerland.

War of the Second Coalition (1799-1802)

· 1799 Second Coalition formed by Britain, Austria, Russia, Portugal, Naples, and the Turks. A succession of Russian and Austrian victories remove French from power in Italy except for a besieged garrison at Genoa. Bonaparte leaves Egypt, returns to France. Anglo-Russian force lands in Holland.

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Britain

· 1530s – 1630s Enclosures in England. Landowners evict their tenants to enclose their lands for sheepherding as the English textile industry grows. The evicted peasants move to London and the New World

House of Tudor (1486-1603)

Henry VII (1486-1509)

· 1486 Henry VII (Tudor) marries Edward IV’s daughter Elizabeth of York uniting houses of York and Lancaster.

· 1487 Battle of Stoke Field: In final engagement of the Wars of the Roses, Henry VII, defeats Yorkist army "led" by Lambert Simnel (who was impersonating Edward, the nephew of Edward IV who was confined in the Tower of London, the only plausible royal alternative to Henry).

· 1487 Henry VII revives the Court of the Star Chamber, for the trial of unlawful barons

· 1496 Henry VII joins the Holy League against France in the Hapsburg-Valois Wars.; commercial treaty between England and Netherlands.

Henry VIII (1509-1547)

· 1521 Pope Leo X declares Henry VIII “Defender of the Faith” for his attacks against Martin Luther

· 1529 Henry VIII summons the "Reformation Parliament" and begins to cut the ties with the Church of Rome after failing to obtain the Pope's consent to his divorce from Catherine of Aragon. Notably, Henry seeks Parliamentary support for this, strengthening Parliament’s position, as future kings will need Parliament’s consent for major decisions. Henry VIII dismisses Lord Chancellor Thomas Wolsey for failing to obtain the Pope's consent; Sir Thomas More appointed; 1532 More resigns over Henry VIII's divorce

· 1530s-1540s Henry VIII expands two palaces seized from Cardinal Wolsey—Whitehall and Hampton Court—and begins the construction of Nonsuch Palace, emphasizing the role of the court as a seat of political and administrative power

· 1533 Henry VIII marries Anne Boleyn and is excommunicated by Pope Clement VII; Thomas Cranmer appointed Archbishop of Canterbury

· 1534 Parliament passes the Act of Supremacy, establishing the Church of England and declaring that the English monarch is its head and protector. Subjects are required to swear an oath of loyalty and reject papal authority. 1535 More is beheaded for failing to take the Oath of Supremacy

· 1536 Anne Boleyn is beheaded; Henry VIII marries Jane Seymour; Act Of Union with Wales

· 1536-9 Thomas Cromwell, vicar-general to Henry VIII, supervises the dissolution of monasteries and convents suspected of corruption, seizes monastic property, and issues injunctions against the worship of images and the sale of relics.

· 1537 Jane Seymour dies after the birth of a son, the future Edward VI

· 1540 Henry VIII marries Anne of Cleves following negotiations by Thomas Cromwell; Henry divorces Anne of Cleves and marries Catherine Howard; Thomas Cromwell executed on charge of treason

· 1542 Catherine Howard is executed. Henry VIII marries Catherine Parr;

Edward VI (1547-1553)

· 1547 Duke of Somerset acts as Protector; 1550 Fall of Duke of Somerset; Duke of Northumberland succeeds as Protector

· 1549 First Act of Uniformity, proclaims the Catholic mass illegal. Church interiors are whitewashed and religious images are removed. Cranmer compiles the First Book of Common Prayer, and church services are for the first time conducted in English instead of Latin. 1551 Archbishop Cranmer publishes Forty-two Articles of Religion

· 1553 On death of Edward VI, Lady Jane Grey proclaimed queen of England by Duke of Northumberland, her reign lasts nine days; Lady Jane Grey executed 1554.

Mary I, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon (1553-1558)

· 1553-1558 Mary I reinstitutes Roman Catholicism. Protestants are persecuted and 300, including Cranmer, are burned at the stake

· 1554 Mary marries Philip II, heir to the throne of Spain

· 1558 England loses Calais, last English possession in France. Mary dies

Elizabeth I, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, (1558-1603)

· 1558 Elizabeth I repeals Catholic legislation. 1570 Queen Elizabeth I excommunicated by Pope.

· 1563 The Thirty-nine Articles complete establishment of the Anglican Church

· Most of the nobility, even when professedly Protestants, regretted the alienation of England from the Universal Church. But their discontent varied widely in its intensity. There were nobles like Sussex who were resolved to serve their Queen loyally and zealously, but who wished her to cultivate a good understanding with Philip, to marry the Archduke, to abstain from assisting the Huguenots, to recognise Mary as her heir-presumptive and marry her to Norfolk. There were others like Norfolk, Montagu, Arundel, and Southampton, who had treasonable relations with the Spanish ambassador, and aimed at overthrowing Cecil, and marrying Mary to Norfolk. A third party, headed by the Catholic lords of the north, was plotting to depose Elizabeth in favor of Mary, and to marry the latter to Don John of Austria.

· Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, was the leading aristocrat in England, and was expected to control the young Elizabeth. When he could not, he plotted to wed Mary Queen of Scots and restore Catholicism to England and Scotland. The plan collapsed, and Norfolk's supporters staged an armed rebellion. He was convicted of treason and executed in 1572. Parliament vehemently called for the death of Mary Queen of Scots because of her involvement in the plot, but Elizabeth refused to allow the execution of a sister queen.

· 1584 Conspiracy against Elizabeth I involving her cousin Mary Queen of Scots. Mary was Elizabeth’s cousin, the daughter of Margaret Tudor who was sister of Henry VIII. 1587 Execution of Mary Queen of Scots;

· 1587-1601 War with Spain ensues after the Pope deposes Elizabeth, who had been assisting the Netherlands in their rebellion against. 1588 Defeat of the Spanish Armada by English.

· Sir Francis Drake, a privateer who raided Spanish ships with the covert backing of Elizabeth, soon discovered his "sea dogs" had earned a reputation as being bold and decisive but also sensitive to the enemy and civilians. By only targeting military ships Drake proved that you could defeat your enemy by depriving him of the weapons and funding for war while protecting the innocent. The natural by-product was that British solidarity rose from his actions while the Catholic Church's empire declined further due to its dependence on brutality and overbearing force on the people.

· 1600 English East India Company established.

· 1601 Earl of Essex attempts a rebellion, and is executed. During the last years of her reign, Elizabeth had a turbulent relationship with Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex and the stepson of Robert Dudley. At the end of the 1590s, Essex led a disastrous campaign to subdue rebels in Ireland. When he returned home, he faced disgrace. In frustration, he led an insurrection. At Elizabeth's orders, he was executed. Elizabeth was clearly fond of Essex, 33 younger than she, but it was not the romantic obsession portrayed in later novels and films

House of Stuart (1603-1649)

James I (James VI of Scotland) (1603-1625)

· 1603 After all the plots and fears concerning succession, when Elizabeth died there was a clear consensus in favor of James VI of Scotland. Although Elizabeth had executed Mary Queen of Scots, it was Mary's son James who peacefully inherited the throne

· 1604 Hampton Court Conference: no relaxation by the Church towards Puritans; James I bans Jesuits;

· 1605 Gunpowder Plot; Guy Fawkes and Roman Catholic conspirators fail in attempt to blow up Parliament and James I.

· 1607 Colony of Virginia is founded

· 1611 James I's authorized version (King James Version) of the Bible is completed;

· 1622 James I dissolves Parliament for asserting its right to debate foreign affairs

Charles I (1625-1649)

· 1625 Charles I marries Henrietta Maria, sister of Louis XIII of France; dissolves Parliament which fails to vote him money

· 1628 Petition of Right; Charles I forced to accept Parliament's statement of civil rights in return for finances

· 1629 Charles I dissolves Parliament and rules personally until 1640

· 1640 Charles I summons the "Short" Parliament ; dissolved for refusal to grant money to fight a rebellion in Scotland; The Long Parliament begins. Members of the King’s government, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, are put to death.

· 1641 Triennial Act requires Parliament to be summoned every three years; Star Chamber and High Commission abolished by Parliament; Grand Remonstrance of Parliament to Charles I

· 1642 Charles I fails in attempt to arrest five members of Parliament and rejects Parliament's Nineteen Propositions

English Civil War (1642-1645)

· 1642 Begins with battle of Edgehill between Cavaliers (Royalists) and Roundheads (Parliamentarians)

· 1643 Solemn League and Covenant is signed by Parliament

· 1644 Battle of Marston Moor; Oliver Cromwell defeats Prince Rupert

· 1645 Formation of Cromwell's New Model Army; Battle of Naseby; Charles I defeated by Parliamentary forces

· 1646 Charles I surrenders to the Scots

· 1647 Scots surrender Charles I to Parliament; he escapes to the Isle of Wright; makes secret treaty with Scots.

· 1648 Scots under Charles I invade England and are defeated by Cromwell at battle of Preston.

· 1648 Pride's Purge: Presbyterians expelled from Parliament - Rump Parliament

· 1649 Charles I is tried and executed;

Commonwealth (1649-1660)

· 1649 Republic formed under Oliver Cromwell

· 1650 Charles II lands in Scotland; is proclaimed king. 1651 Charles II invades England and is defeated at Battle of Worcester; Charles escapes to France;

· 1651 First Navigation Act, England gains virtual monopoly of foreign trade

· 1652-1654 Anglo-Dutch War.

· 1653 Cromwell dissolves the "Rump" and becomes Lord Protector; 1655 England divided into 12 military districts by Cromwell England seizes Jamaica from Spain

· 1656 - 1659 War with Spain

· 1658 Oliver Cromwell dies; succeeded as Lord Protector by son Richard; 1659 Richard Cromwell forced to resign by the army; "Rump" Parliament restored; 1660 Convention Parliament restores Charles II to throne

Stuart Restoration (1661-1714)

Charles II (1661-1685)

· 1661 English acquire Bombay. 1662 Portugese cede Tangier to England

· 1661 Clarendon Code; "Cavalier" Parliament passes repressive laws against Nonconformists; 1662 Act of Uniformity 1664 English limit “Nonconformity” with reestablished Anglican Church.

· 1664 England seizes New Amsterdam from the Dutch. 1665-1667 Second Anglo-Dutch War.

· 1665 Great Plague. 1666 Great Fire of London

· 1670 Hudson's Bay Company founded

· 1670 Secret Treaty of Dover between Charles II and Louis XIV of France to restore Roman Catholicism to England

· 1672-4 Third Anglo-Dutch War

· 1673 Test Act aims to deprive Roman Catholics and Nonconformists of public office

· 1677 William III of the Netherlands, marries Mary, daughter of James II

· 1678 'Popish Plot' in England; Titus Oates falsely alleges a Catholic plot to murder Charles II

· 1679 Act of Habeas Corpus passed, forbidding imprisonment without trial; Parliament's Bill of Exclusion against the succession of Roman Catholic James II blocked by Charles II; Parliament dismissed; Charles II rejects petitions calling for a new Parliament; petitioners become known as Whigs; their opponents (royalists) known as Tories

· 1681 Whigs reintroduce Exclusion Bill; Charles II dissolves Parliament

James II of England and VII of Scotland (1685-1688)

· 1685 James II reinstitutes Catholic monarchy; Disregards Test Act; Roman Catholics appointed to public office

· 1685 Rebellion by Charles II's illegitimate son, the Duke of Monmouth is put down

· 1687 James II issues Declaration of Liberty of Conscience, extends toleration to all religions

· 1688 The 'Glorious Revolution'; Protestants fear restoration of Catholicism, William III of Orange is invited to England, James II flees to France

William III and Mary II (daughter of James II), joint monarchs of England and Scotland (1689-1694)

· 1689 Convention Parliament issues Declaration of Right detailing the unconstitutional acts of James II and passes the Bill of Rights; establishes a constitutional monarchy in Britain. Bars Roman Catholics from the throne; Toleration Act grants freedom of worship to Trinitarian Protestant dissenters

· 1689-1697 War of the League of Augsburg (King William’s War) against France.

· 1690 William III defeats James II and Irish rebels at Battle of the Boyne in Ireland.

· 1694 Death of Queen Mary. Triennial Act sets the maximum duration of a parliament to three years

· 1694 Foundation of the Bank of England.

· 1701 The Act of Settlement settles the Royal Succession on the Protestant descendants of Sophia of Hanover.

· 1701-1713 War of the Spanish Succession Grand alliance between England, Netherlands and Austria to prevent the union of the Spanish and French crowns. 1704-1709 British, Dutch, and Austrian troops, under the John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, defeat the French. 1713 The Treaty of Utrecht: British take New Foundland, Acadia, and Hudson's Bay Territory from France, and Gibraltar and Minorca from Spain. France recognizes the claim of Anne to the throne of England over James III. Britain gains the Asiento Contract to supply slaves to Spanish America.

Anne, daughter of James II, sister of Mary II (1702 – 1714)

· 1707 The Act of Union unites the kingdoms of England and Scotland and transfers the seat of Scottish Government to London

· 1708 Queen Anne vetoes a parliamentary bill to recognize the Scottish militia. This is the last time a bill is vetoed by the sovereign

House of Hanover (1714-1901)

George I, Elector of Hanover, distant cousin of Anne (1714-1727)

· 1715 The Jacobite Rebellion begins in Scotland with the aim of restoring the "Old Pretender" James III, but is easily defeated

· 1719 South Sea Bubble bursts, leaving many investors ruined after speculating with stock of the 'South Sea Company'

· 1721-1742 Sir Robert Walpole becomes Britain's first Prime Minister.

· 1733 The 'Excise Crisis' occurs and Walpole is forced to abandon his plans to reorganize the customs and excise

George II (1727-1760)

· 1738 John and Charles Wesley start the Methodist movement in Britain

· 1739 'War of Jenkins' Ear' Britain at war with Spain. The cause: Captain Jenkins' ear cut off during a Naval Skirmish. Britain captures Porto Bello in the West Indies.

· 1757 William Pitt becomes Prime Minister

· 1751 Robert Clive, British commander, takes Arcot. 1756 “Black Hole of Calcutta.” Nawab of Bengal captures Calcutta and imprisons 146 Briish soldiers in a small room, most die. 1757 Beginning of British Empire in India as Clive, defeats Nawab of Bengal at Plassey.

· 1756-1763 Seven Years War.

George III, grandson of George II (1760-1820)

· 1763 Treaty of Paris ends the Seven Years War. France cedes Canada and most of its Indian colonies to the British; Spain cedes Florida to Britain in exchange for Cuba. Spain receives Louisiana, French territories west of the Mississippi, and Minorca.

· 1774 Warren Hastings appointed first British Governor-General of India. 1775-1782 War between the British and Marathas.

· 1775-1781 American War of Independence.

· 1780 Armed Neutrality of the North formed by Russia, Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands to protect neutral shipping from British interference.

· 1780 Gordon Riots: Riots against Catholics in London, led by Protestant Lord George Gordon

· 1783 Parliament passes the India Act, gives the British Crown joint control of India with the East India Company.

· 1786 The Eden commercial treaty with France is drawn up

· 1787 British acquire Sierra Leone

· 1788 George III suffers his first attack of 'madness' (caused by porphyria)

· 1792-1797 War of the First Coalition against France

· 1799 Britain controls most of southern India

· 1799 Combination Laws prohibit trade unions

· 1799-1802 War of the Second Coalition against France

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Scotland

House of Stuart (1371-1707)

1488-1513 James IV.

· 1502 James IV marries Margaret, daughter of Henry VII

· 1513 Battle of Flodden Field: invading Scots are defeated by the English under Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey; James IV is killed.

1513-1542 James V.

· 1530 James V marries Marie of Guise, forging an alliance with France.

· 1542 James V killed at the Battle of Solway Moss

1542-1567 Mary, Queen of Scots

· 1542-1560 The conversion of Scotland to Protestantism, led by John Knox, repairs the rift with England

· 1558 Mary marries Francois, the Dauphin of France. 1661 Widowed, Mary returns to Scotland.

· 1560 Treaty of Berwick between Elizabeth I and Scottish reformers; Treaty of Edinburgh among England, France, and Scotland

· 1567 Murder of Lord Darnley, husband of Mary, probably by Earl of Bothwell; Mary marries Bothwell, is imprisoned, and forced to abdicate. Mary escapes to England and is imprisoned by Elizabeth I. 1587 Execution of Mary Queen of Scots;

1567-1625 James VI

· 1603 James VI of Scotland becomes James I of England

· 1607 Parliament rejects proposals for union between England and Scotland

· 1639 First Bishops' War between Charles I and the Scottish Church; ends with Pacification of Dunse

· 1640 Second Bishops' War; ends with Treaty of Ripon

· 1646 Charles I surrenders to the Scots. 1647 Scots surrender Charles I to Parliament; he escapes to the Isle of Wright; makes secret treaty with Scots. 1648 Scots invade England and are defeated by Cromwell at battle of Preston.

· 1650 Charles II lands in Scotland; is proclaimed king. 1651 Charles II invades England and is defeated at Battle of Worcester; Charles escapes to France;

· 1688 William I becomes King of England. The Scottish parliament invited letters from him and James VII (ousted as James II of England). When the arrogant response from James persuaded the Scots to accept William, John Graham of Claverhouse, Viscount Dundee, led Scottish Highlanders in Jacobite uprisings in an attempt to return the throne to King James. Dundee was killed at the Battle of Killiecrankie, and the rising in Scotland suffered inconclusive defeat at the Battle of Dunkeld.

· 1692 The Glencoe Massacre In the Highlands the royal Argyll regiments (of the Campbells) slaughter 38 men of the MacDonald clan on the pretext of disloyalty to William III, and another 40 women and children die of exposure

· 1695 The Company of Scotland, also called the Scottish Darien Company, was an overseas trading company created by an act of the Parliament of Scotland. In July 1698 it launched its first expedition, led by William Paterson, founder of the Bank of England, who hoped to establish a colony in Darien (on the Isthmus of Panama), which could then be used as a trading point between Europe and the Far East bypassing South America. More than a thousand colonists succumbed to hunger and disease, and in 1700 ships carried the few survivors home. All told, the disastrous venture, dubbed the Darien Scheme, drained Scotland of more than a quarter of its liquid assets and may have played a key role in pushing the country to the eventual 1707 Act of Union with England.

1707 The Act of Union unites the kingdoms of England and Scotland and transfers the seat of Scottish Government to London

· 1715 The Jacobite Rebellion begins in Scotland with the aim of restoring the "Old Pretender" James III, but is easily defeated

· 1745 Jacobite Rebellion in Scotland led by James II’s son Charles Edward, 'Bonnie Prince Charlie'. He lands in Scotland, raises a Highland army, and enters Edinburg with 2000 men. There is a Scottish victory at Prestonpans. 1746 The Duke of Cumberland crushes the Jacobites at the Battle of Culloden. Charles escaped to France where he died in 1788.

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Ireland

· 1494 Poynings' Law subjecting all Irish Parliaments to the jurisdiction of the English Privy Council.

· 1515 Anarchy in Ireland.

· 1534 Kildare rebellion. After the excommunication of Henry VIII and declaration of the Anglican Church, the catholic Fitzgerald, Earl of Kildare (Chief Governor of Ireland) is called to London, imprisoned in the Tower and dies. His son is executed in rebellion by Protestant subjects loyal to Henry VIII in Dublin. End of Fitzgerald power in Ireland.

· 1541 Henry VIII declares himself king of Ireland, dissolves all monasteries and takes their properties, and claims all lands.

· 1562 Elizabethan Wars. Elizabeth excommunicated by Pope Pius V who releases Catholic subjects from obedience to her. Elizabeth encourages resettlement by English Protestants.

· 1595-1601 Rebellion of Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone and O’Donnell, Earl of Tyrconnell. 1594 O'Neill defeats a small English force at the Ford of Biscuits near Enniskillen.1598 O'Neill's great victory at Yellow Ford in Ulster. 1601 Defeat of O'Neill, O'Donnell and Spaniards by Mountjoy at Battle of Kinsale. 1603 Accession of James 1. Surrender of Hugh O'Neill. Enforcement of English Law in Ireland. 1607 "The Flight of the Earls" O'Neill and O’Donnell escape to Spain.

· 1606-1611 Land in six counties of Ulster consficated by English, settled by English and Scottish Protestants

· 1625 Charles I is more indulgent to Irish-Catholic landowners in order to collect local funds to support against Spanish invasion of Ireland.

· 1632-38 Compilation of the Annals of the Four Masters

· 1641 Great Catholic-Gaelic Rebellion. Irish chieftain Rory O'More joined with Old English Catholics in the Confederation of Kilkenny to seize Dublin. English settlers were driven out of Ulster, 30,000 Protestants massacred; Catholics hold 59% of land.

· 1649 Oliver Cromwell lands at Dublin. His troops slaughter the Irish at Drogehda and Wexford. Lands in Munster, Leinster and Ulster ares confiscated and divided among the English soldiers. 1652 Catholic landowners exiled to Connaught. 1656 Over 60,000 Irish Catholics had been sent as slaves to Barbados, and other islands in the Caribbean. 1658 The population of Ireland, estimated at 1,500,000, before Cromwell, was reduced 500,000

· 1685-1688 James II, King of England. Restored all lands confiscated since 1641

· 1688 English Revolution. James II deposed in England.

• 1689 Catholic forces under James II land in Ireland from France and lay siege to Derry for 105 days.
• 1690 William of Orange lands at Carrickfergus and defeats James II at Battle of the Boyne. James II sails for France.
• 1691 Catholic defeat at Aughrim and surrender at Limerick. The Treaty of Limerick allows Irish-Catholic officers to leave and in the "Flight of the Wild Geese” 11,000 soldiers sail for the continent. It also allows Irish to exercise their religion freely, but severe penal laws soon follow.

· 1692-1829 Exclusion of Catholics from Parliament and all professions. Younger sons who became Protestant allowed to disinherit their older brothers.

· 1695 Anti-Catholic Penal Laws Introduced. By 1714 Catholics hold 7% of land in Ireland.

· 1782 Legislative Independence won from Britain by Irish Parliament. Ireland obtains short-lived parliament but real power remains with British Governor at Dublin Castle.

1784-1798 Events leading up to the Revolution of 1798

· 1784 In Ulster competition between Catholics and Protestants lead to the formation of the Defenders. This organization spread to the South and eventually blended with the United Irishmen in the 1798 Revolution. The principles of freedom and reform had been spreading in Ireland, largely due to the influence of the American and French Revolutions.

· 1791 Theobald Wolfe Tone, a lawyer from County Kildare greatly influenced by the French Revolution, published a pamphlet, "A Northern Whig", attacking the 1782 constitution. 1791 Tone and other Protestants formed the non-sectarian Society of United Irishmen, with headquarters in Belfast. The aim was to unite all Irishmen regardless of religion against England.

· 1791-1793 The Catholic Relief Acts enabled Catholics to bear arms, become members of corporations, vote as freeholders, act as grand jurors, take degrees in Dublin University, hold minor offices, and take commissions in the army below the rank of general. Catholics were barred, however, from holding government office. Strong counter-measures soon came into effect, however, promoted by the English aristocracy and Church of Ireland, alarmed by the events in the French Revolution.

· 1795 Lord Fitzwilliam, an Irish landowner friendly to the Catholic cause, was appointed Lord Lieutenant. King George was persuaded to recall Fitzwilliam, who was succeeded by Lord Camden, who was instructed to oppose Catholic emancipation and the reform of Parliament. The United Irishmen was changed to a secret and revolutionary organization began to organize Ireland on a military basis, and emissaries were sent to France to elicit the support of the French government.

· September 1795, an armed encounter between Catholics and Protestants, the Battle of the Diamond, took place in County Armagh, resulting in the death of 30 Defenders. As a result, the Orange Order was formed to maintain the Protestant Constitution.

· 1796 The Insurrection Act mandated that the Lord Lieutenant could place any district under martial law, all arms were to be surrendered, the death penalty be imposed for administering an unlawful oath, and magistrates be empowered to seize any subject and send them to serve at sea. The Habeas Corpus Act was suspended for the whole of Ireland.

· December 1796 Wolfe Tone, who was now in France, convinced the French to attempt the invasion of Ireland and sailed to Bantry Bay with fifteen thousand troops. Unfortunately, poor seamanship and rough weather combined to prevent their landing, and they were driven back to France. In 1797, a second attempt by the French to invade Ireland was also defeated, and, following this, there was little further French support for the Irish rebels.

· 1798 The Revolution of 1798. Armed rebellion broke out in Meath, Leinster, Ulster, and, with particular strength, in County Wexford. March: arrest of Leinster Directory of United Irishmen. May: arrest and death of Lord Edward Fitzgerald. June: Battle of Vinegar Hill. Battle of Antrim. November: Wolfe Tone captured, commits suicide.

· 1800 Act of Union passed between Great Britain and Ireland

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Scandinavia

Denmark

· 1557-1582 Livonian Wars. Involve Poland, Russia, Sweden and Denmark in a dispute over the succession to the Balkan territories

· 1625-1629 Christian IV, Protestant King of Denmark, enters the Thirty Year War against the Catholic Holy Roman Empire.

· 1643-1645 Denmark and Sweden at war

· 1655-1661 Sweden wars against Poland, Russia, Denmark, and the Holy Roman Empire. Denmark surrenders territory to Sweden.

· 1700-1721 Great Northern War. Russians, Danes, and Poles launch attacks on Sweden. Danish quickly sue for peace.

Sweden

· 1523 Gustavus Vasa I, leads a revolt against Danish rulers and becomes King of Sweden. 1550 Gustavus I, eager to profit from the commerce between Russia and the Hanseatic League, founds Helsinki.

· 1557-1582 Livonian Wars. Involve Poland, Russia, Sweden and Denmark in a dispute over the succession to the Balkan territories

· 1595 Treaty between Russia and Sweden; Sweden gains Estonia

· 1611-1632 Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, “The Lion of the North”.

• 1611 Begins war with Poland Denmark, and Russia. 1617 Peace treaty between Russia and Sweden. 1629 Sweden victorious over Poland.

· 1630 Enters the Thirty Years War against the Holy Roman Emperor. 1632 Killed at the Battle of Lutzen. Swedes continue the war. 1648 Treaty of Westphalia ends the Thirty Years' War.

· 1643-1645 Denmark and Sweden at war

· 1655-1661 Sweden wars against Poland, Russia, Denmark, and the Holy Roman Empire. 1660 Poland cedes Livonia to Sweden. Denmark surrenders territory to Sweden. 1661 Russia and Sweden restore all conquests to each other.

· 1675 Swedish forces defeated by Frederick William of Brandenburg.

· 1700-1721 Great Northern War. 1700 Russians, Danes, and Poles launch attacks on Sweden. Danish and Russians quickly sue for peace. 1701 Charles XII of Sweden invades Poland. 1706 Treaty between Sweden and Poland. Polish king abdicates in favor of Stanislaus Leszczynski, ally of Charles XII. 1708 Charles XII invades Russia. 1709 Battle of Poltova: Russia defeats Swedes. 1720 Treaty of Stockholm among Sweden, Prussia, Hanover, Savoy, Denmark, and Poland. 1721 Treaty of Nystadt returns some of Sweden’s lost territory, but confirms Russia’s power.

· 1741-1743 Sweden and Russia at war.

· 1788-1790 Gustavus III of Sweden at war with Russia

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Netherlands

· 1482-1506 Philip I, Duke of Burgundy, ruler. Philip I marries Juana the Mad of Spain.

· 1506-1556 Charles I, son of Philip I (after 1519 Emperor Charles V), ruler. Charles appoints as regents his aunt Margaret of Austria (r. 1507–30) and sister Mary of Hungary (r. 1530–56).

· 1548 Charles V annexes the Netherlands to Spain

· 1556 Charles V abdicates as Holy Roman Emperor. His son Philip II becomes king of Spain and the Netherlands and Philip's illegitimate daughter, Margaret of Parma (r. 1559–96) becomes regent of the Low Countries

· 1560 John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion is published in Dutch. Calvinism rapidly appeals to the middle classes because it glorifies work and marks a defiant attitude toward Catholic Spanish rule.

· 1566 Outbreaks of iconoclasm occur, the furnishings of Antwerp Cathedral are destroyed, churches throughout the Netherlands—particularly in the north—are sacked. In response to iconoclasm, Philip II names Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alva, governor of the Low Countries.

· 1568 Alva's regime of terror triggers the Dutch wars for independence led by William I the Silent, prince of Orange. With the help of naval supporters known as "Sea Beggars," the rebels take control of most northern towns. 1572 The states of Holland proclaim William the Silent stadtholder of Holland and Zeeland. Recognizing that the Calvinists have been the driving force behind the rebellion, the prince converts to the new faith.

· 1579 The northern provinces and some southern territories form the Union of Utrecht. They declare independence from Spain in 1581, and become the Dutch Republic or United Provinces of seven provinces, representative of which meet in the States-General; independence will be acknowledged by Spain in 1648. The Catholic south (modern Belgium) remains under Habsburg rule until 1795.

· 1584 William of Orange is assassinated on orders of Philip II.

· 1602 Dutch East India Company founded. 1621 Dutch West Indies Company

· 1648 Treaty of Westphalia ends the Thirty Years' War. Dutch Republic recognized as independent by Spain

· 1652-1654 First Anglo-Dutch War.

· 1657-1661 Dutch Republic and Portugal at war.

· 1664 England seizes New Amsterdam from the Dutch. 1665-1667 Second Anglo-Dutch War.

· 1667-1668 War of Devolution: France invades Spanish Netherlands, winds most of Flanders

· 1672 William III.

· 1672-4 Third Anglo-Dutch War. 1672-1678 French at war with the Dutch.

· 1677 William III marries Mary, daughter of James II of England.

· 1688 The 'Glorious Revolution' in England; William III of Orange becomes King of England

· 1701-1713 War of the Spanish Succession Grand alliance between England, Netherlands and Austria to prevent the union of the Spanish and French crowns. Austria wins the Spanish Netherlands.

· 1787 Prussian invasion of Dutch Republic.

· 1792-1795 War of the First Coalition against France. 1794 France invades the Netherlands and captures its fleet, occupies it until 1795.

· 1795-1806 France sets up the Batavian Republic in the Netherlands.

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France

1650-1789 France becomes an absolute monarchy, beginning with Louis XIV.

· 1494-1559 Hapsburg-Valois Wars begin when Charles VIII of France invades Naples, to which he has a distant claim. The Holy League (Pope Alexander VI, Venice, Milan, Spain, and Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I), forces his retreat months later. The wars continue with Spain and France fighting for control of Milan and Naples until 1559.

· 1515-1547 François I establishes Paris as his principal residence. He also undertakes the expansion of his hunting lodge at Fontainebleau.

· 1520 Field of Cloth of Gold: Francois I meets Henry VIII but fails to gain his support against the Holy Roman Empire.

· 1536 John Calvin (born Jean Cauvin) begins the Protestant movement in France.

· 1559 Hapsburg-Valois Wars end. Rule of Sicily and Milan is granted to Spain.

· 1561 Persecution of Huguenots in France stopped by Edict of Orleans.

· 1562-1598 The Wars of Religion begin again with massacre of Huguenots at Vassy. The Wars are fought both for Huguenots to attain freedom of worship, and as a culmination of tensions among the nobility, particularly between the Guise, a powerful Catholic family, and Protestant Bourbon princes. The continue until the Edict on Nante in 1598.

· 1572 Catherine de Medici (Regent 1560-1574, Widow of King Henry II) orders the assassination of Huguenot leader Admiral Gaspard de Coligny, which fails. This escalates into the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre in which 20,000 Protestants are slain in Paris, most there for the wedding of Henry of Navarre to Catherine’s daughter. Amnesty granted to Hugenots (1573).

· 1585-1589 War of the Three Henrys: Catholic Henry III versus Protestant Henry of Navarre, heir to the throne, and Henry of Guise, leader of the Holy Catholic League. Begins when Henry III bans Protestantism. Navarre wins several battles, and Guise seizes Paris and attempts to depose Henry III. Henry III flees to Blois. Henry III invites Guise to a conference and has him murdered. The Catholic League attacks Henry III in retribution, and Henry III is forced to make peace with Navarre. Henry III and Navarre advance to retake Paris, when Henry III is killed by a fanatical monk.

Bourbons (1589-1789)

Henry IV, 1589–1610.

· 1589 Henry, King of Navarre, is recognized as Henry IV. Cotinues to fight battles until he converts to Catholicism in 1593 in an attempt to end the religious wars. The Protestants receive free townships, immune from royal rule.

· 1598 the Edict of Nantes grants Protestants freedom of worship.

· 1604 French East India Company founded

· 1610 Henry IV is assasinated

Louis XIII, 1610-1643

· 1610 Louis XIII is 9 years-old. For 5 years during the Regency, advisers fight for influence

· 1614 Estates-General summoned to curb the nobility (the last until 1789)

· 1618-1648 Thirty Years War

· 1622-1630 Spain occupies Valtelline Pass, war with France and England follows.

· 1624-1642 Cardinal Richelieu (Armand Jean duPlessis) is chief minister.He consolidates the power of the monarchy.

· 1628 Hugenots surrender to Richelieu, losing all political power

· 1635 France declares war on Spain.

Louis XIV, 1643-1715

· Built on Cardinal Richelieu's raison d'etat or "reason of state" Louis XIV consolidated the political power of destructive war in the expansion of France. The tool of this expansion was the creation of a "cordon sanitaire" around France in Rhineland, Catalonia and Piedmont where troops burned farms, killed and raped civilians, and looted the countryside to secure a dead zone perimeter for protection against hostile armies. Naturally those persecuted brought about Louis and France's decline in the Battle of Blenheim in 1704.

· 1648-1649 Revolt of Fronde in Paris. After Richelieu’s death the chief defender of the traditional constitution was the parlement of Paris – a corporation of lawyers who could plead before the highest royal court. 1650 Second revolt of Fronde suppressed with Spain’s intervention.

· 1659 Treaty of the Pyrenees between France and Spain settles borders, confirms French supremacy.

· 1661 Louis XIV begins personal rule as absolute monarch; starts to build Versailles, which becomes a symbol of the strength of the Monarchy, and is copied by rulers around Europe. Known as the “Sun King”, he will centralize power at the royal court, while diminishing the authority of the nobility, local courts and representative bodies. Nobles will be excluded from his council, where only non-noble ministers may serve. France’s independence from Rome will be asserted. At the same time France enters a period of cultural and political ascendancy – the Grande Siecle.

· 1667-1668 War of Devolution: France invades Spanish Netherlands, wins most of Flanders

· 1672-1678 French at war with the Dutch.

· 1680-1683 Chambers of Reunion established by Louis XIV to annex Strasbourg, Lumexburg, and Lorraine

· 1681-1682 Sieur de la Salle explores the Mississippi River

· 1685 Edict of Nantes is revoked by Louis XIV; thousands of Protestants flee.

· 1686 France annexes Madagascar.

· 1689-1697 War of the League of Augsburg. League of Augsburg formed when Louis XIV invades the Palatinate: Holy Roman Empire, the Palatinate, Saxony, Bavaria, Sweden, Spain, England, and the Netherlands (with the secret support of the Pope) against France. The Treaty of Ryswick restored all territory conquered by France except Strasbourg and parts of Alsace.

Louis XV, 1715-1774

· 1715-1723 Duke of Orleans is regent

· 1715 French take Mauritius

· 1720 An attempt to establish a French National Bank ends in bankruptcy. Collapse of John Law’s Mississippi Company

· 1726-1743 Cardinal Fleury, chief minister

· 1733-1735 War of Polish Succession. When August II, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, dies, the Poles choose Stanislaus Leszczynski. Louis XV had married Stanislaus’ daughter, and so he was supported by France and Spain. Russia and Austria supported Augustus III, Augustus’ son, and were eventually victorious. France wins Lorraine

· 1756-1763 Seven Years War. 1763 Treaty of Paris ends the Seven Years War. France cedes Canada and most of its Indian colonies to the British. Spain receives Louisiana.

· 1764 Expulsion of the Jesuits.

· 1771 Remodelling of parlements by Maupeou. Parlement of Paris is split up and magistrates are appointed by the government.

Louis XVI. 1774-1789

· 1774 Dismissal of Maupeou and Terray. Reintegration of parlements.

· 1778-1783 France borrows heavily to support American Revolution. By the 1780s half of the budget is interest payments, mostly to artistocrats and financiers. France has only gold money and is unable to print paper money or create credit.

· 1785 The "Diamond Necklace" affair discrediting queen Marie-Antoinette.

· 1787 “Assembly of Notables” called by Louis XVI to gain support for tax on land. Notables ask that control over government spending be given to the provincial assemblies. When government refuses, Assembly is dissolved. Parlement requests a meeting of the Estates General—not called since 1613.

· 1788 "May Edicts" introduced including the remodelling of the parlement. Nobles revolt against the "May Edicts". Partial state bankruptcy: payments from treasury suspended. Second Assembly of Notables. Doubling of Third Estate - will now have as many deputies as the other two orders put together.

French Revolution (1789–1799)

· France is legally divided into 3 estates – clergy, nobility, and commoners. Clergy numbered 100,000, owned 10% of land, only paid “voluntary gift” every 5 years. Nobility numbered 400,000, owned 25% of land, were lightly taxed by the crown. Notables taxed the peasants by selling hunting/fishing rights, monopoly rights, fees, etc. They also had honors of precedence & right to wear a sword. Commoners included merchants, professionals, peasants & artisans.

1789

· Feb Abbe Sieyès's What is the Third Estate? May Estates-General convene.

· June The Third Estate proclaims itself "The National Assembly." It invites the other two Orders to join. A few liberal nobles and many clergy join the movement. Tennis Court Oath: After being locked out of their meeting room, the Third Estate assembled on a tennis court and swore not to separate until a constitutional regime was established. The King concedes and orders the Nobles and the Clergy to join the National Assembly.

· July The National Assembly proclaims authority to decree laws; their primary task is to adopt a constitution. July 14 The Fall of the Bastille. July 16 Royal troops advancing toward Paris and Versailles are withdrawn. Jul–Aug. The Great Fear: Peasants in many places revolt in order demolish the remnants of "feudalism."

· Aug. The National Assembly abolishes most feudal privileges, including tax exemptions, tithes, obligatory labor on roads, and the payment of seigneurial dues, and adopts the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.

· Sept. King given suspensive veto on legislation. First appearance of Jean–Paul Marat’s The Friend of the People daily newspaper. Oct.: The Women’s March Upon Versailles. Parisians force the royal family back to Paris, where they take up residence at the Tuileries. The Assembly, still in Versailles, declares, in the spirit of constitutional monarchy, its inseparability from the king. Its meetings are transferred to a hall close to the Tuileries. Martial Law is decreed.

· Nov. Church property is nationalised. Dec. France’s administration reorganized with the establishment of departments, districts, cantons, and communes. Assembly issues treasury notes called assignats based on the value of church property.

· 1790 Monastic vows forbidden. All aristocratic, hereditary titles are abolished. Adoption of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. All public officials and priests are required to sign an oath of loyalty to the new French nation. Louis XVI secretly explores a possible coalition with foreign powers to end the Revolution.

· 1791 June: Laws forbidding workers' associations and strikes Attempting to flee France, Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and their children are arrested and brought back to Paris. The Assembly suspends the King’s authority until further notice. July The Emperor Leopold II’s Padua Circular appeals to other monarchs to join with him in supporting Louis XVI. Aug. Slave rebellion in Saint-Domingue. The Declaration of Pillnitz: The rulers of Austria and Prussia agree to combine forces against the French Revolution. Sept. The Constitution of 1791 is proclaimed, Louis XVI accepts constitution. Oct. Abolition of slavery in France, but not in the colonies. Nov. Louis XVI vetoes decrees against émigrés and refractory priests,

1792

• Mar. Louis XVI forms a new government, composed mostly of Girondins, the "Girondin Ministry". Inflation intensifies. Food riots occur in Paris. Apr. War declared on Austria and Prussia. June Dismissal of Girondin ministry; Sansculottes invade Tuileries and threaten King. Lafayette denounces Jacobins.
• July "La patrie en danger" proclaimed. Properties of émigrés confiscated. The Duke of Brunswick, commanding general of the Austro–Prussian Army, in an inflammatory declaration, The Brunswick Manifesto, warns Parisians to obey Louis XVI, which creates fear and anger in Paris. Singing La Marseillaise, a battalion of National Guards from Marseilles arrives in Paris. Plans are made by a revolutionary committee to proceed toward the overthrow of the king
• Aug. Storming of Tuileries; overthrow of the monarchy. The royal family is imprisoned. The Assembly authorizes the arrest of suspected enemies of the Revolution throughout France. Distribution of communal land except for forest land. Extraordinary tribunal established. Jean Cottereau, known as Jean Chouan, declares for the King and resists a call for volunteers. The revolt of the Chouans, to be connected to a larger revolt in the West of France against the Republic, begins. Lafayette deserts the army and flees to Austria. Prussian armies, including French émigrés, invade France. Fall of Longwy.
• Sept.: September Massacres in Paris: murder of over 1000 prisoners. French Republic proclaimed by a new assembly, the National Convention. Georges Danton declares that the French Revolution is a revolution against all kings. The Convention declares its willingness to help all subjected peoples achieve their liberty. The Enragés demand that the "aristocracy of the rich" be stripped of their wealth, and are attacked by the Girondists and the Jacobins who both defend the right of property.
• Dec. Trial of Louis XVI led by the Girondins. Members in the English House of Commons urge taking up of arms against France to protect Louis XVI from the Convention.

1793

• Jan. Execution of Louis XVI. Feb. War declared on Britain, Spain, and Dutch Republic. Conscription decreed.
• Mar. Royalist and Catholic revolt begins in the Vendée and western France. Revolutionary Tribunal created. Revolutionary Armies decreed; committees of surveillance each commune charged with investigating traitors to the nation. A revolt attempted by the Enragés in Paris fails.
• Apr. After several important defeats, General Dumouriez, the hero of Valmy, proclaims the Convention responsible for them, and urges his army to march with him upon Paris, but the army refuses. Dumouriez deserts to the Austrians, bringing suspicion on his allies, the Girondins.
• Apr. Committee of Public Safety created by the Jacobins, a more extreme political group in the Convention, attempting to deal with the radical movements of the Enragés, food riots, the revolt in the Vendée and in Brittany, recent defeats of its armies, and the desertion of Dumouriez. Marat is arrested but almost immediately liberated by the Revolutionary Tribunal, an event which further intensifies the antagonism between the Girondins and Jacobins. 'Federalist' uprising in Marseilles.
• June Reign of Terror begins. Purge of Girondins from Convention by the Jacobins. Spread of 'Federalist revolt' to Bordeaux and Caen. Constitution of 1793. July Danton leaves Committee of Public Safety. Charlotte Corday assassinates Marat. Final abolition of feudalism. Maximilien Robespierre joins Committee of Public Safety. Aug. Agents in Saint Domingue abolish slavery. Decree of levée en masse (universal obligation to national service). Sept. Parisian insurrection secures further radicalization of the war–effort by the Convention. Oct. Revolutionary calendar introduced. Trial and execution of Girondins. Nov. Festival of Reason in Notre-Dame. Parisian churches closed. Dec. Although continuing sporadically, the Vendée revolt is repressed.

· 1794 Danton and Robespierre executed. Reign of Terror ends. Jacobin Club closed, reinstatement of surviving Girondins. France invades the Netherlands and captures its fleet, occupies it until 1795. 1795-1806 France sets up the Batavian Republic in the Netherlands

· 1795 Royalists land at Quiberon but are defeated. Third French Constitution sets up Directory government. Prussia and Spain make peace with France.

· 1796 Invasion of Italy led by General Napoleon Bonaparte

· 1797 Treaty of Tolentino with the Pope. Venetian Republic occupied by France. Austria makes peace with France.

· 1798 Napoleon conquers Rome, founds the Roman Republic. Founds the Helvetic Republic in Switzerland. 1798-1799 Napoleon invades Egypt, at the Battle of the Pyramids takes Cairo. Battle of the Nile: British fleet under Horatio Nelson defeats the French.

· 1799 Napoleon invades Syria, sieges Jaffa and Acre, held by the Turks. French take Naples. Pope brought to France. Russia and Austria evacuate Switzerland. Second Coalition formed by Britain, Austria, Russia, Portugal, Naples, and the Turks. Austrians take Milan; a succession of Russian and Austrian victories remove French from power in Italy except for a besieged garrison at Genoa. Oct. Bonaparte leaves Egypt, lands in France, leads coup that overthrows the Directory Nov. Consulate established, Napoleon becomes First Consul—one of three Consuls. Dec. Bonaparte imposes the Constitution of the Year VIII, shunting the other two consuls aside.

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Germany/Holy Roman Empire

· 1500s Out of 12 million Germans, only 1.5 million live in cities. Augsburg is the largest city, followed by Cologne and Nuremberg. In Free Imperial Cities such as Basel, corporations are represented on municipal councils, along with members of patrician families.

Hapsburgs, 1438-1805

Maximillian I (1493-1519)

· Marriage between his son Philip and Juana of Spain extends Habsburg rule into Spain

· 1494-1559 Hapsburg-Valois Wars. The Hapsburgs vie with France over control of Naples and Milan.

· 1495 Proclamation of the "Eternal Peace" at the Diet of Worms

· 1499 Switzerland breaks away from the empire

· 1517 Martin Luther’s 95 Theses. Prompts German Reformation. Begins clash of Protestant Princes with Catholic Emperor.

Charles V (1519–56) (grandson of Maximillian I, son of Philip).

· 1521-1529 Charles V and France at war. 1526 League of Cognac formed by Pope Clement VII, France, England, Milan, Florence, and Venice against Emperor Charles V. 1527 Hapsburg troops attack Rome, imprison Pope Clement VII. 1529 France's renunciation of all territorial claims in Italy at the Peace of Cambrai. Treaty of Barcelona between Clement VII and Charles V. Charles V is crowned emperor by Clement VII in the last imperial coronation

· 1522-1523 Uprising of the knights. 1524-26 Peasant uprisings.

· 1529 The Turks besiege Vienna. 1533 Peace between Ottomans and Charles V.

· 1531 Schmalkaldic League founded by Protestant Rulers, led by Philip of Hesse and the Elector of Saxony. Met at Schmalkalden in Thuringia for a defensive alliance against Charles V. 1539 Treaty of Frankfurt between Charles V and Protestant princes. 1546-1547 Charles V defeats the Schmalkaldic League at the Battle of Muhlberg. 1552 Duke Maurice of Saxony forces Charles to agree on freedom of Worship at the Peace of Passau. 1555 The Peace of Augsburg: the religion of each state of the Holy Roman Empire is to be determined by its ruler.

· 1552-1556 Wars between Charles V and Henri II of France

· 1558 Charles abdicates. He divides the Hapsburgs territories between his brother Ferdinand I, who succeeds him as emperor, and his son Philip, to whom he gives Spain, Naples, Sicily, Milan, Franche-Comte and the Netherlands.

· 1559 Hapsburg-Valois Wars end. Rule of Sicily and Milan is granted to Spain.

· 1571 The Ottomans besiege Vienna for the first time

· 1572 Emperor Rudolf II becomes King of Hungary and Bohemia. Establishes his court in Prague.

· 1593-1606 War between Austria and Turkey. Austria abandons Transylvania, but ceases to pay tribute to the Turks

· 1608 Protestant Union formed, led by Frederick IV. 1609 Catholic League is formed, led by Maximillian of Bavaria.

Thirty Years' War, 1618-1648

· 1619 Bohemians depose Catholic Ferdinand II and elect Protestant Frederick V, Elector of the Palatinate (“The Winter King”).

· 1625-1629 Denmark joins coalition against Ferdinand II.

· 1627 Catholics under von Wallenstein and the Count of Tilly subdue the Protestants. Ferdinand II remains Emperor.

· 1629 Ferdinand II issues the Edict of Restitution entitling Catholics to reclaim Protestant lands. 1635 Treaty of Prague: Ferdinand II revokes the Edict of Restitution, makes peace with Saxony.

· 1630 Sweden joins war against Ferdinand II

· 1648 Treaty of Westphalia ends the Thirty Years' War. France wins Alsace and Lorraine. Dutch and Swiss republics recognized as independent. German population cut in half

· 1655-1661 Sweden wars against Poland, Russia, Denmark, and the Holy Roman Empire.

· 1663-1806 The "permanent imperial diet" at Regensburg (congress of representatives of the princes and towns of the empire)

· 1683-1699 War of European powers against the Turks. Holy League formed by Pope Innocent XI: Austria, Poland and Venice. Vienna withstands three-month Turkish siege; high point of Turkish advance in Europe. Austrians take Transylvania and Hungary, where the Hapsburgs succeed to the throne.

· 1689-1697 War of the League of Augsburg. League of Augsburg formed when Louis XIV invades the Palatinate: Holy Roman Empire, the Palatinate, Saxony, Bavaria, Sweden, Spain, England, and the Netherlands (with the secret support of the Pope) against France. The Treaty of Ryswick restored all territory conquered by France except Strasbourg and parts of Alsace.

· 1697-1763 Under Frederick Augustus I, “The Strong” (1697-1733) and Frederick Augustus II (1733-1763), the Electors of Saxony are the Kings of Poland

· 1701-1713 War of the Spanish Succession Grand alliance between England, Netherlands and Austria to prevent the union of the Spanish and French crowns.

· 1701 Prussia becomes an independent kingdom

· 1709 Pragmatic Sanction issued by Emperor Charles VI to guarantee the succession of his daughter Maria Theresa.

· 1716-1718 Austro-Turkish war. Austrians take Belgrade.

· 1734 War of the Polish Succession. When August II, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, dies, the Poles choose Stanislaus Leszczynski, who had been king 1704-1709. Louis XV had married Stanislaus’ daughter, and so he was supported by France and Spain. Russia and Austria supported Augustus III, Augustus’ son, and were eventually victorious.

· 1739 Austrias-Russian-Turkish War. Ottomans recover Belgrade from Austria, Russia agrees not to build a Black Sea fleet.

· 1740-1748 War of the Austrian Succession. 1740 Charles VI, only male Hapsburg descendant, dies. His daughter Maria Theresa inherits the throne, but it was immediately claimed by Charles Albert, Elector of Bavaria, Phillip V of Spain, and August III of Poland and Saxony. Prussian King Frederick II invaded Silesia, supported by Bavaria, France, Poland, Saxony, and Spain. Maria Theresa was supported by Hungary, Britain, and the Netherlands.

· 1742-1745 Charles Albert of Bavaria is elected Emperor Charles VII.

· 1745 Charles VII dies. Francis Stephen of Lorraine, husband of Maria Theresa, is elected Emperor Francis I. Begins the reign of the Hapsburg-Lorraine family.