1450-1750 Timeline

Lime Green=Portugal, Spain=Purple, Holy Roman Empire=Blue, Red=England

Main

Beginning of Portuguese Slave Trade

1441

The Portuguese were the first to use Africans as slaves. The slave trade began across the Atlantic Ocean. They traded gold, silver and an assortment of spices. The slave trade was led by Prince Henry (the Navigator).

Council of Trent

1445 - 1563

The Council of Trent was considered to be one of the Church's most important councils. Based out of Trento, Italy which was the capital of Prince-Bishopric of Trent of the Holy Roman Empire. The purpose of the Council was to determine what changes to make to better the church.

Dias Voyage to the Indian Ocean

1488

Portugal longed for sea route to Africa, and in 1488 Bartolomeu Dias by King John II. It is said that he was the European traveler to reach Cape Hope but he and his his crew returned right away.

Columbus' first Voyage

1492

Christopher Columbus, a new age explorer received funding from the King and Queen of Spain to go discover what was out there. This was the first journey to the new world (the Americas) which he didn't even mean to find, due to the fact that he strongly misunderstood the geography.

Treaty of Tordesillas

1494

Signed June 7th, 1994 the Treaty of Tordesillas divided newly acquired lands between Portugal and Spain. It was about half way between the Cape Verde Islands and the islands first discovered by Christopher Columbus while he was on his first journey funded by Spain.

Spanish Conquest of Mexico

1519 - 1521

.After the discovery of the new world, Hernan Cortes set out of further exploration He sailed to Aztec inhabited Mexico with his 11 ships, and was able to overpower the Aztecs and gain Mexico. This process wasn't instantaneous and took 2 years.This is one reason Spanish influence reached Mexico. The reason this event is so amazing today is the fact that a small armada was able to overcome the strong Aztec military.

Foundation of Society of Jesus

1540

The Society of Jesus, AKA the Jesuits were a Christian male religious order founded by Ignatius of Loyola. The group was known for practicing the four principles of poverty, chastity, obedience to the Christ , obedience to the pope.

Spanish Armada

1588

The Spanish armada is the name for the Spanish fleet of ships that sailed against England for the purpose of overthrowing Elizabeth I (of England). It was later driven out by an English fire ship attack. About 50 of the 130 ships never returned to Spain.

30 Years War

1618 - 1648

The 30 Years War was a series of wars fought mainly in Central Europe. It was one of the most destructive Wars in European history. There is no single cause, but it was mainly a battle between the Catholic and Protestant groups at the time in the Holy Roman Empire. It led to further problems between France and Hapsburg powers.

Peace of Westphalia

1648

The Peace of Westphalia was a series of treaties that ended the 30 Years War. This treaty began a new system of political structure in Central Europe. Not only did the signing of this treaty end the war, it also started a period of sovereignty across the empire.

Seven Years War

1756 - 1763

The 7 Years War was driven by conflict between Great Britain and the Bourbons. The conflict resulted from overlapping trade problems. The War ended with 4 treaties: the Treaty of Saint Petersburg, Treaty of Paris, Treaty of Hubertsburg, and the Treaty of Hamburg. It was one of the most gruesome wars, killing 900,000 to 1,400,000 which was an extremely heavy loss for the time.

Establishment of the First Colony in Australia

1788

Australia was first under European rule after James cook had taken the territory in the name of king George III on August 23, 1770. From here the island was explored for nearly 4 months by cook and his party. It was also in this time when the island was noted for its fertility and amount if exotic plants. Soon after having been reported by captain cook, England had begun to focus on Australia as a colony. It was in 1779 however that Australia had become infamous; for establishing it as a penal colony to England in Botany Bay.

End of British Slave Trade

1807

British slave trade had first occurred in the 18th century. The Atlantic was used to bring millions of slaves across the ocean in order to put them to work in the newly founded British colonies. It wasn't until 1783 when the first petition to end slave trade had been started by the Quaker movement. In the year 1833 lord Stanley had presented the idea of paying off plantation owners to compensate for loss of slaves. This idea had worked as the slave trade had become outlawed by parliament later that year.

Rulers and Lives

Life of Henry the Navigator

1394 - 1460

Henry the Navigator was an important figure in the early Portuguese empire. He helped further European travel and trade. He is called as the 'patron of Portuguese travel'.

Reign of Mahmed the Conqueror

1444 - 1481

He was a sultan of the Ottoman Empire. He sacked Constantinople and ended the Byzantine Empire. He is responsible for transforming the Ottoman state into an empire.

Reign of Sunni Ali

1464 - 1492

Sunni Ali was the first king of the Songhai empire. He used infantry and cavalry to conquer many cities. Captured Timbuktu in 1468 and D'jenne in 1475.

Life of Martin Luther

1483 - 1546

Martin Luther was a major figure in the Protestant Reformation in Europe. He is responsible for nailing the 95 Theses to the church doors in 1517. He strongly opposed indulgences.

Life of John Calvin

1509 - 1564

John Calvin was a french theologian as well as a pastor during the Protestant reformation. Came up with a christian idea of thought called Calvinism. He broke away from the Roman Catholic Church in 1530.

Reign of Sulieman the Magnificent

1520 - 1566

Sulieman the magnificent completely reformed the Ottoman law system. He led the Ottoman to conquer many christian influenced countries including Belgrade, Rhodes and most of Hungary.

Reign of Akbar

1556 - 1605

Akbar was the 3rd ruler of the Mughal empire. He was a strong military leader as well as a patron of the arts. He focues quite a bit on architeture as well as education.

Life of Galileo Galilei

1564 - 1642

Galileo was a philosopher as well as a physicist. He played a major role in the scientific revolutionw with his controversial ideas. He was also an astronomer, also known as "the father of science"

Reign of Emperor Wanli

1572 - 1620

Wanli was an emperor of China who ruled the Ming Dynasty for 48 years. He mad the descision to take complete control over China's government. He kept China very prosperous and economically stable under his reign.

Empires and Dynasties

Ottoman Empire

1299 - 1923

The Ottoman Empire, also often referred to as the Turkish empire was founded when Mahmed the conquerer took control of Constantinople. The empire reached it's peak in 1590, when it was covering Asia, Europe and Africa.

Songhai Empire

1340 - 1591

Also known as the Songhay empire, this kingdom was located in Western Africa. It's capital city was Gao. Teh Songhai empire exploited the Mali empire for it's recources and trade oppurtunites.

Safavid Dynasty

1501 - 1722

The Safavid Dynasty was located in modern day Iran. The official religion was Shi'a' Islam. The created a revival of a strong economic relationship between the East and West. They were famous for their state bureaucracy based on checks and balances.

Mughal Dynasty

1526 - 1856

Located in modern day Iran, the Mughal Dynasty emperors were direct descendants of Genghis Khan. Very welcoming of all of India. Ruled by Akbar the Great

Tokugawa Shogunate

1600 - 1868

The heads of teh Tokugawa goverment were Shoguns, located in modern day Japan

Qing Dynasty

1644 - 1912

Teh Qing Dynasty was the last emperial dynasty of China. It is located in modern day northeastern China. Was highly influenced by Chinese culture and Han principles.