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Period: Feb 2, 1289 to
Ottoman Dynasty
The Ottoman Dynasty was another of the gunpowder dynasties; it was centered in Turkey and Constantinople. It was a strong, lasting empire, but was ultimately truncated because it could not support the size it had accumulated. The Ottoman dynasty faced the same problems as other gunpoqder empires, it couldnt support its people without expanding, it lacked flourishing trade, and it did not advance as the European nations did, causing problems over time (KC 4.3). -
Period: Feb 3, 1394 to Feb 3, 1460
Prince Henry the Navigator
Henry was the prince of Portugal and was the earliest promoter of exploration along the west coast of Africa. His importance lies in his support of exploration without which it is uncertain of when the Europeans would have linked into the Indian Ocean trade (KC 4.3, 4.1) -
Period: Feb 1, 1441 to Feb 1, 1460
Beginning of Portuguese Slave Trade
After taking slaves by force, the Portuguese learned that the purchase and sale of African slaves could be a profitabke exchange. This led to the popularization of African slavery, and is one of the more important intercontinental exchanges during this period (KC 4.1). -
Period: Feb 3, 1451 to Feb 3, 1481
Reign on Mehmed the Conqueror
Mehmed was the Ottoman ruler who captured Constantinople, and began a new phase of the Ottoman Dynasty. His various campaigns display the expansionary needs of the gunpowder dynasties (KC 4.3). -
Period: Feb 3, 1464 to Feb 3, 1493
Reign of Sunni Ali
Sunni Ali consolidated Songhay rule over the old lands of the Mali Empire using superior military organization. He also protected the trade routes of his empire to ensure its prosperity. Ali provides an example of the consolidating rulers that were common in this time period (KC 4.3). -
Period: Feb 3, 1464 to
Songhay Empire
The Songhay Empire ruled a portion of the Niger river and relied heavily on the trade profits from Gao and other trading cities which drew merchants from the Trans-Sahran trade routes and the Niger River. It was the contemporary counterpart of the Mali Empire, capitalizing on its overlord state's weakness (KC 4.3). -
Period: Feb 2, 1483 to Feb 2, 1546
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a writer who first brought attention to the Church's wrongdoings, including the sale of indulgences and corruption among clergy. His ideas were spread via preinting press pamphlets, a new mode of communication and production that became popular in his times. He is also known as the father of the Protestant Refomation because his faith, Lutheranism, was the first to break away from the Catholic Church (KC 4.1, 4.2). -
Period: Feb 1, 1486 to Feb 1, 1488
Bartolomeu Dias' Voyage
Dias sailed around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa, and into the Indian Ocean. The importance of his voyage is that afterwrad Europeans realized they could sail directly into the Indian Ocean and participate in its trade directly, leading to an increase in European power and wealth (KC 4.1). -
Feb 1, 1492
Columbus' First Voyage
With the backing of Spain,Columbus landed in the Caribbean islands and made the first European contact with the natives of the Americas. European involvement in the Americas exploded after Columbus' "discovery", and the ecological exchange tha follwed changed the balance of the worlds power, wealth and population (KC 4.1, 4.3). -
Feb 3, 1494
Treaty of Tordesillas
The Treaty of Tordesillas divided the lands of the new world into two section, one of which was designated to be ruled by Portugal, and the other by Spain. The treaty shows the need of European powers to interact and delegate who ruled what lands during this time period to avoid excess conflict (KC 4.3). -
Period: Feb 3, 1501 to
Safavid Dynasty
Ruling over Persian lands, the Sfavids aligned themselves with Sufis and Twelver Shiites in order to assert their authority. The Safavids were the weakest of the gunpowder dynasties; this was partly due to the fact that on both sides their were blocked by their counterparts, the Mughals and the Ottomans. The Safavids were fairly strong in their realm but maintained trade and cultural traditions and eventually fell behind the Europeans and East Asians in terms of advancements (KC 4.3). -
Period: Feb 1, 1509 to Feb 1, 1564
John Calvin
John Calvin created Calvinism, a branch of Protestantism, during the Protestant reformation. His religion was srtict and created a social order that extended to administrative and economic areas of European life. The importance of Calvin was his realigion, and how it reflects the rise of new ideas of religion and social organization during this period (KC 4.2). -
Period: Feb 3, 1519 to Feb 3, 1521
Spanish Conquest of Mexico
The Spanish Conquest of Mexico was lead by Hernan Cortes and ended the rule of te Aztec Empire. While aided by the disease struck population, Spanish conquistadores ravaged Aztec lands until they captured the capital and proceeded to establish a colonial regime. The conquest of Mexico reflects the European desire for land, wealth, and power during this time period, as well as showcases their ability to acquire all these things (KC 4.1, 4.3) -
Period: Feb 3, 1520 to Feb 3, 1566
Reign of Suleman the Magnificent
Suleyman continued the Ottoman tradition of expanding the state, and he also formed a contemporary naval force to rival some of the Europeans powers. He tried to keep up with the Europeans, but the limits of his empire were met as it butted into eastern Europe and was blocked by the Safavids to the east; the empire also faced the issue of continuous trade as the land routes carried significantly less profit than the sea routes dominated by maritime nations (KC 4.3). -
Period: Feb 2, 1526 to
Mughal Dynasty
The Mughal Dynasty was based in northern India, and was one of the gunpowder empires common to this time period. The Mughals included a variety of religious and ethic groups, and cared greatly for cultural and artistic innovation. Thier failure, however, like other gunpowder empires, is that they did not advance, and were occupying a land which was no longer the center of trade as it once had been. Mughal leaders were often similar to the absolute monarchs of Europe (KC 4.3) -
Feb 1, 1540
Establishmet of the Society of Jesus
Ignatius Loyola established the Society of Jesus to counter the Protestant Reformation, and required priests to be educated and loyal to the Catholic Church, the Jesuits also became important missionaries. The importance of the Jesuits expands beyond this time period, but their missonary efforts reached around the world, and the represented the still thriving belief in the Pope and Catholic Church (KC 4.2) -
Period: Feb 1, 1545 to Feb 1, 1563
Council of Trent
The Council of Trent would meet and decide on actions to be taken in order to counter the Protestant Reformation; many of their decisions were reactionary, and were aimed to resolve the problems which were causing the Protestants to leave the Catholic faith. The Council of Trent was essential in the reorganization of the Catholic Church and fixing issues for the church (KC 4.2). -
Period: Feb 3, 1556 to
Reign of Akbar
Akbar was a great leader of the Mughal dynasty in India. He tried to maintain good relations among his many subjects of varying faiths and cultures, and he strongly promoted the arts. His strong central government resembled the absolute monarchies of Europe, and he used military force to expand the lands of the Mughal empire (KC 4.2, 4.3) -
Period: Feb 1, 1564 to
Galileo Galilei
Galileo was a great scientist who helped to dissolve the Ptolmaic concept of the universe, despite being prosecuted by the Catholic Church for his scientific discoveries. His importance in history goes beyond his discoveries, as he reflects the shift toward scientific thinking that that scientific revolution encouraged, something that other institutions fought to suppress (KC 4.2), -
Period: Feb 3, 1572 to
Reign of Emperor Wanli
Wanli was one of the emperors of Maing China responsible for its decline. Wanli was one of many who indulged in a luxurious lifestyle while ignoring the needs of the people and the demands of the government officials. Under him, eunuchs also gained a lot of power, contradicting what many of the government officials believed was right, and leading to corrupted rule and the decline of the Ming, which in turn allowed for the formation of the Qing Dynasty (KC 4.2). -
Spanish Armada
The Spanish Armada was a large naval force accumulated with the aim of forcing Britain to return to Catholicism by dethroning Queen Elizabeth. THe attack failed, but it displayed the religious underpin of conflict between Spain and Britain, an underpin that existed in conflicts around Europe during this time period (KC 4.3). -
Period: to
Tokugawa Shogunate
The Tokugawa Shogunate was the centralized government of Japan during this period. After the efforts of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the island nation of Japan had consolidated rule and faced a more fair and strong governing system. The Tokugawa Shgunate shut down many of the ports to the outside world and took in things from the outside very carefully, later on this worked to thier advantage because they benefitted from the silver trade but did not face dissolution of their culture (KC 4.2, 4.3). -
Period: to
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was a culminating conflict which involved European powers and was fought over poltical, economic and religious issues. The importance of the war is that it revealed the fundamental differences between the European states and led to the Peace of Westphalia which allowed for sovreign states to become commonplace in europe (KC 4.3, 4.2). -
Period: to
John Locke
John Locke was one of the many popular political theorists at the time of the Enlightenment. His writings reflect the move towards a society interested in the individual as well as the established, safe state (KC 4.2). -
Period: to
Qing Dynasty
The Qing were the conquerers of the Ming dynasty, and established a long lasting and fairly peaceful rule over lands resembling modern Chinese possesions. The Qing maintained a powerful nation, but failed to advance on pace with the Europeans due to thier self absorption. The Qing did, however, gain vast amounts of wealth due to their involvement in the silver trade with Europeans, but they made little technological or societal advancements (KC 4.1, 4.3). -
Peace of Westphalia
The Peace of Westphalia ended the Thirty Years' War and led to the sovreignty of individual European states. The importance of the treaty is that it allowed for European nations to rule over thier people without worrying about papal or other euro influences, it laid the blueprint for modern European nation-states to be powerful in their own right (KC 4.3) -
Period: to
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War became a conflict involving all the major European powers and concerned the state of international imperialism. The result of the war set up the world stage on which Britiain could dominate (KC 4.3). -
First Australian Colony
The first Autralian colony was established by British sttlers, most of them convicts. The major importance of the colony is that it reflects the power and confidence of European maritime nations, namely Britain, and their surity that they could support colonies far and wide (KC 4.3, 4.1). -
Period: to
Haitian Revolution
The Haitian Revolution took place under French rule of Hispaniola, and led to the formation of the Republic of Haiti; it began as a slave revolt. The revolution reflects the visceral hatred of being enslaved that lay in the hearts of the African slaves in the Americas, and the success of the revolt aligns with the trend of the establishment of new social orders in this period (KC 4.2) -
The End of the British Slave Trade
The British ended the slave trade in 1807 with an act of Parliament. African slaves had been being traded by Europeans for over 300 years, and had become the base of some economies, so the passage of the act represents the changin morals and economics of the early modern world (KC 4.2).