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the Printing Press was invented by Gutenberg. A printing press is a mechanical device that transferred text and images from an inked, movable-type surface to paper, revolutionizing the spread of information and marking the end of the manuscript age. Developed by Johannes Gutenberg in Germany around 1450 -
Constantinople fell to the ottoman empire in 1453 after years of weakening decline of the byzantine empire. The Fall of Constantinople, also known as the Conquest of Constantinople, was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire led by Sultan Mehmed II. The city was captured on May 29,1453 as part of the culmination of a 55-day siege which had begun on 6 April. -
The reign of the Tudor dynasty was a pivotal era in English history, lasting from 1485 to 1603, beginning with the victory of Henry VII at the Battle of Bosworth Field and ending with the death of Elizabeth I. Five monarchs ruled during this period: Henry VII, Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I.
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Between 1492 and 1504, the Italian explorer and navigator Christopher Columbus led four transatlantic maritime expeditions in the name of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain to the Caribbean and to Central and South America. These voyages led to Europeans learning about the New World. Columbus was sponsored by the Spanish after being denied sponsorship from the Portuguese -
The Alhambra Decree was an edict issued in 1492 by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, ordering all practicing Jews to either convert to Catholicism or leave their kingdoms by the end of July 1492. This expulsion aimed to ensure that the large population of conversos (Jews who had converted to Christianity) did not revert to their former faith, thereby eliminating Jewish influence in Spain. -
The Reconquista was a nearly eight-century process (c. 711–1492) in the Iberian Peninsula (modern Spain and Portugal) where Christian kingdoms aimed to recover regions previously under Muslim control. Beginning with the Battle of Covadonga (718 or 722), the conflict involved continuous warfare and shifting borders until the fall of Granada in 1492, which marked the complete expulsion of Muslim influence from western Europe. -
Michelangelo completed the paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in October 1512, a four-year project from 1508 to 1512. The public first saw the finished masterpiece on November 1, 1512, All Saints' Day, after which Michelangelo wrote that the Pope was very satisfied with the work. Michelangelo was a famous renaissance painter who is most known for his work painting in the Sistine chapel -
Martin Luther was a German theologian who initiated the Protestant Reformation by posting his Ninety-five Theses in 1517, challenging the practices of the Catholic Church, particularly the sale of indulgences. This act challenged the practice of the Catholic Church selling indulgences and is widely considered the spark that ignited the Protestant Reformation it was a list of grievances against the Catholic Church, on the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church. -
Martin Luther attended the Diet of Worms in April 1521 at the invitation of Emperor Charles V, who sought to have him recant his writings and condemn them as heresy. After two appearances, Luther refused to renounce his teachings, famously declaring his conscience was bound to the Word of God and he could do no other. This defiance led to him being declared an outlaw, though he was granted safe passage for his return -
The Prince is a 16th-century political treatise written by the Italian diplomat, philosopher, and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli in the form of a realistic instruction guide for new princes. -
The Act of Supremacy was a pivotal piece of English legislation that declared the King of England, Henry VIII, the Supreme Head of the Church of England(Anglican church), effectively severing ties with the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope's authority in England. Passed by the English Parliament, the act gave the monarch control over the church, a move that had significant consequences for religion, politics, and wealth in England. -
On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres is the seminal work on the heliocentric theory of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus of the Polish Renaissance. The book, first printed in 1543 in Nuremberg, Holy Roman Empire, offered an alternative model of the universe to Ptolemy's geocentric system, which had been widely accepted since ancient times. -
The Council of Trent was the Roman Catholic Church's 19th ecumenical council, a key part of the Counter-Reformation, addressing the doctrinal challenges of the Protestant Reformation. It reaffirmed Catholic doctrines on salvation (faith and works), clarified the seven sacraments, affirmed Scripture and tradition as final authorities, and instituted reforms like seminary training for priests and standardized the Mass
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a treaty within the Holy Roman Empire that ended religious conflict between Catholics and Lutherans by allowing rulers to choose either Catholicism or Lutheranism as the official religion of their state. This principle, known as cuius regio, eius religio (whose realm, his religion), gave princes the right to determine their territory's religion and allowed residents who dissented to emigrate. -
The Saint Bartholomew's Day massacre in 1572 was a targeted group of assassinations and a wave of Catholic mob violence directed against the Huguenots during the French Wars of Religion. Traditionally believed to have been instigated by Queen Catherine de' Medici, the mother of King Charles IX, the massacre started a few days after the marriage on 18 August of the king's sister Margaret to the Protestant King Henry III of Navarre. -
The War of the Three Henrys was a decisive phase of the French Wars of Religion that lasted from 1587 to 1589. The conflict was a three-way contest for the French throne between the ruling monarch, Henry III; his heir-presumptive, the Protestant Henry of Navarre; and the head of the Catholic League, Henry I, Duke of Guise.
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The Spanish Armada was defeated by the English Navy in 1588 due to several factors, including English naval superiority in speed and maneuverability, effective use of long-range cannons and fire ships, and adverse weather conditions that devastated the Spanish fleet during its return voyage around the British Isles. Queen Elizabeth I's English navy decisively defeated King Philip II's Spanish Armada in 1588 through superior maneuverability and tactics -
The Edict of Nantes, issued by King Henry IV of France in 1598, granted substantial religious and civil liberties to the Huguenots in a nation still overwhelmingly Catholic, marking a significant step toward religious tolerance in Europe. It permitted public worship in specific areas, and granted full rights to Protestants, ending decades of religious civil war. However, its protections, under Louis XIII were revoked by Louis XIV in 1685, leading to the mass emigration of Huguenots.
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The Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) began with the Bohemian Revolt, sparked by the Defenestration of Prague, and unfolded in four phases: Bohemian, Danish, Swedish, and French, transitioning from religious to political conflict and concluding with the Peace of Westphalia, which established greater state sovereignty and reshaped European power.
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The English Civil War (1642-1649) pitted King Charles I's Royalists against Oliver Cromwell's Parliamentarians, ending with Charles I's execution for treason and the establishment of the Commonwealth republic, a period of republican rule leading to Cromwell's Protectorate; the "Cromwell Burger" seems unrelated, possibly a humorous misspelling or misremembering of a historical term, as no such official order or significant item exists in this context.
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Louis XIV's reign (1661-1715) after Mazarin's death marked the pinnacle of French absolutism, centralized power at Versailles by drawing nobility to court, and established France as Europe's dominant power through military strength, cultural splendor, and direct rule, solidifying his divine right to govern without a chief minister, all while fostering national identity but laying groundwork for future unrest.
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The Glorious Revolution of 1688 saw the Catholic King James II deposed and replaced by his Protestant daughter Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III, after prominent figures invited them to intervene due to fears of a Catholic dynasty. This largely bloodless coup established parliamentary sovereignty and a constitutional monarchy in England, shifting power from the crown to Parliament through acts like the Bill of Rights and paving the way for greater religious toleration. -
English Bill of Rights: This landmark act, fully titled "An Act Declaring the Rights and Liberties of the Subject and Settling the Succession of the Crown," significantly limited the powers of the monarchy and established the principles of a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary supremacy. Published anonymously around the same time, John Locke's seminal work provided the philosophical justification for the Glorious Revolution that preceded the Bill of Rights.
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establishing Philip V as King of Spain but forcing him to renounce claims to the French throne, preventing union of the crowns and upholding the European balance of power, while Britain gained Gibraltar, Nova Scotia, and the Asiento (slave trade rights), marking Britain's rise as a colonial power. -
Maria Theresa's reign (1740–1780) began with the War of Austrian Succession (1740–1748) after European powers, notably Prussia, challenged her inheritance of the Habsburg lands despite the Pragmatic Sanction; the war tested her rule, resulting in significant territorial loss (like Silesia) but solidifying her position, leading to crucial military and administrative reforms that strengthened Austria despite ongoing conflicts like the Seven Years' War.
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The Treaty of Paris was signed by Great Britain, France, and Spain, confirming British dominance outside Europe and the loss of most French North American territories. The Treaty of Hubertusburg was signed by Prussia, Austria, and Saxony, ending the conflict in Europe with no significant border changes and confirming Prussia as a major power.
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Diderot's Encyclopédie, published between 1751 and 1772, was a landmark Enlightenment project edited by Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert, aiming to compile all human knowledge, challenging authority with reason, and featuring contributions from major thinkers like Voltaire and Rousseau, ultimately influencing the French Revolution despite significant censorship.
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The 1760-1780 period marked the explosive beginnings of Britain's Industrial Revolution, characterized by key inventions like the Spinning Jenny (Hargreaves, 1764) and the Water Frame (Arkwright, 1769), revolutionizing textile production, alongside James Watt's efficiency improvements to the steam engine, shifting power from water to coal and enabling the factory system, driving massive growth in textiles, coal, and iron, and setting the stage for widespread mechanization and urbanization.
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Catherine the Great's reign (1762-1796) marked Russia's "Golden Age," characterized by significant territorial expansion (Crimea, Black Sea), Enlightenment-inspired reforms in law and education, cultural flourishing, and Russia's emergence as a major European power, though her policies also entrenched serfdom, notes. A German princess who seized power via coup, she modernized Russia, strengthened central administration, and promoted arts, science, and European integration.
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Pugachev's Rebellion of 1773–1775 was the principal revolt in a series of popular rebellions that took place in the Russian Empire after Catherine II seized power in 1762.
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In 1776, Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations, a seminal text for classical economics, was published, advocating for free markets, specialization, and self-interest, paralleling the American Revolution's spirit of liberty and independence inspired by Enlightenment ideals
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The French Revolution began in 1789, sparked by financial crisis and social inequality under King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette, leading to the formation of the National Assembly by the Third Estate; key events included the Storming of the Bastille (July 14) and the Assembly's adoption of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (August 26), establishing foundational principles of liberty, equality, and fraternity that dismantled the old monarchy.
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The Haitian Revolution (1791-1804) was history's only successful slave revolt, transforming France's wealthy colony of Saint-Domingue into independent Haiti, the first free Black republic, by defeating French, Spanish, and British forces and abolishing slavery