Timeline 1450-1700
1453
Ottoman Conquest of Constantinople
1456
Guttenburg invents the movable type printing press
1460
Henry the Navigator dies
1471
Portuguese Explorers discover the Gold Coast of Africa
1487
Bartolomeo Diaz rounds the southern tip of Africa
1492
Columbus’ first voyage to the Americas
End of the Spanish Reconquista, Muslim Granada conquered
1499
Vasco da Gama (Portugal) reaches India
1510
Portuguese establish the trading colony of Goa (Mumbai) in India
1517
Martin Luther posts his 95 Theses in Wittenburg
1522
Cortez conquers the Aztec Empire (present day Mexico)
1529
German Lutheran princes protest Charles V’s condemnation of
religious reform, which leads to the term “Protestant”
Act of Supremacy makes Henry VIII of England the head of the
Anglican Church
1536
Pizarro conquers the Inca Empire (modern day Peru)
1541
John Calvin takes control of Geneva, which becomes the center of
Calvinist reform and education
1543
Copernicus publishes On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres
1545-1563
Council of Trent kicks off the Catholic Counter-Reformation
1555
Peace of Augsburg
1566
Protestant Dutch in the northern provinces of the Netherlands rebel
against Spanish rule
1571
Battle of Lepanto halts the Muslim invasion of Europe
1572
St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in Paris
1576
Sack of Antwerp by Spanish troops, Catholic provinces of the
Netherlands join the revolt against Spain
1579
Northern Provinces of the Netherlands form the Union of Utrecht,
the southern Catholic provinces (modern Belgium) remain under
Spanish control
1588
The English defeat the Spanish Armada
1589
Henry IV becomes king of France, ending the Valois Dynasty, starting
the Bourbon Dynasty
1598
Edict of Nantes issued by Henry IV of France, religious toleration
1609
Keppler publishes New Astronomy, establishing the Three Laws of
Planetary Motion
1609-1610
Galileo publishes Dialogues on the Two Chief Systems of the World
1613
The Romanov Dynasty comes to power in Russia
1617
Archduke Ferdinand is crowned king of Bohemia
1618
Ferdinand is crowned Holy Roman Emperor
“Defenestration of Prague” starts the Thirty Years’ War
Bohemians (Czechoslovakians) elect Frederick V of Palantine to be
king of Bohemia (30 Yrs. War)
Creation of Brandenburg-Prussia
1619
First African-Americans arrive in Virginia Colony
1620
Battle of White Mountain ends Czech hopes for an independent
Bohemia (30 Yrs. War)
Roger Bacon publishes Novum Organum
1625
Albrecht von Wallenstein fights for Emperor Ferdinand, his victories
prompts Christian IV of Denmark to invade the Holy Roman Empire
(30 Yrs. War)
1628
Parliament forces Charles I of England to sign the Petition of Rights
1629
Emperor Ferdinand issues the Edict of Restitution (30 Yrs. War)
1630
Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden invades the Holy Roman Empire
(30 Yrs. War)
Puritans establish Massachusetts Bay Colony importing Calvinism into
the Americas
1632
Battle of Lutzen, Gustavus Adolphus is killed (30 Yrs. War)
Albrecht von Wallenstein is assassinated (30 Yrs. War)
1635
France declares war on Spain (30 Yrs. War)
1637
Rene Descartes publishes Discourse on Method
1640
Portugal wins its independence from Spain
1642-1646
English Civil War
1643
France defeats Spain, ending the Thirty Years’ War
Six year old Louis XIV becomes king of France
1648
The Treaty of Westphalia officially ends the Thirty Years’ War
1649
Charles I of England is executed, Oliver Cromwell controls England
1651
Thomas Hobbes published Leviathan
1660
The Restoration of the English monarchy under Charles II
1666
The Great Fire of London
1685
Louis XIV of France revokes the Edict of Nantes
1687
Isaac Newton publishes Principia Mathematica
1688
The Glorious Revolution brings William and Mary to the throne of
England
The Elector of Brandenburg-Prussia, Frederick, is given the title king
of Prussia
1689
William and Mary of England sign the Bill of Rights ensuring a
constitutional monarchy in England
Peter the Great becomes Tsar of Russia
1690
John Locke publishes An Essay Concerning Human Understanding and
1699
Leopold II of Austria-Hungary drives the Turks out of Hungary
Two Treatises on Government