World Timeline
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Stone Age
(50,000 BC - 6000 BC)
The use of metals was scarce, and the most common building materials/weapons were wood and stone. Much of this history is undocumented.
- 50,000
Original hunter gatherer societies found in:
First known habitation of the islands of Japan
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A Paleolithic culture from around 30,000 BC constitutes the first known habitation of the islands of Japan.[16] This was followed from around 14,500 BC (the start of the Jōmon period) by a Mesolithic to Neolithic semi-sedentary hunter-gatherer culture characterized by pit dwelling and rudimentary agriculture.[17] Clay vessels from the period are among the oldest surviving examples of pottery.[18]
- 10,000
Agricultural Revolution
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The Neolithic Revolution was the first agricultural revolution, representing a transition from hunting and gathering nomadic life to an agriculture existence. It evolved independently in six separate locations worldwide circa 10,000–7,000 years BP (8,000–5,000 BC). The earliest known evidence exists in the tropical and subtropical areas of southwestern/southern Asia, northern/central Africa and Central America.[33]There are some key defining characteristics. The introduction of agriculture resulted in a shift from nomadic to more sedentary lifestyles,[34] and the use of agricultural tools such as the plough, digging stick and hoe made agricultural labor more efficient.[citation needed] Animals were domesticated, including dogs.[33][34] Another defining characteristic of the period was the emergence of pottery,[34] and, in the late Neolithic period, the wheel was introduced for making pottery.[35] Neolithic architecture included houses and villages built of mud-brick and wattle and daub and the construction of storage facilities, tombs and monuments.[36]
-9,000
Cattle & Copper
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Copper metalworking was employed as early as 9000 BC in the Middle East;[37] and a copper pendant found in northern Iraq dated to 8700 BC.[38] Ground and polished stone tools continued to be created and used during the Neolithic period.[34] Numeric record keeping evolved from a system of counting using small clay tokens that began in Sumer about 8000 BC.[39]
Bronze Age
(6000 BC - 1000 BC)
Mining and the use of Bronze made more powerful tools/weapons and it was an age where the first writing systems became devised and used.
-6,000
First Uses of Opium
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The Mediterranean region contains the earliest archeological evidence of human use; the oldest known seeds date back to more than 5000 BC in the Neolithic age[9] with purposes such as food, anaesthetics, and ritual. Evidence from ancient Greece indicates that opium was consumed in several ways, including inhalation of vapors, suppositories, medical poultices, and as a combination with hemlock for suicide.[10] The Sumerian, Assyrian, Egyptian, Indian, Minoan, Greek, Roman, Persian and Arab Empires all made widespread use of opium, which was the most potent form of pain relief then available, allowing ancient surgeons to perform prolonged surgical procedures.[citation needed] Opium is mentioned in the most important medical texts of the ancient world, including the Ebers Papyrus and the writings of Dioscorides, Galen, and Avicenna. Widespread medical use of unprocessed opium continued through the American Civil War before giving way to morphine and its successors, which could be injected at a precisely controlled dosage.
Sumerians move into Mesopotamia
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Around 4000 BCE a people called Sumerians moved into Mesopotamia, perhaps from around the Caspian Sea. By 3800 BCE the Sumerians had supplanted the Ubaidians and Semites in southern Mesopotamia. They built better canals for irrigating crops and for transporting crops by boat to village centers. They improved their roads over which their donkeys trod, with some of their donkeys pulling wheeled carts.
Minoan Civilization
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The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age Aegean civilization on the island of Crete and other Aegean Islands, whose earliest beginnings were from c. 3500 BC, with the complex urban civilization beginning around 2000 BC, and then declining from c. 1450 BC until it ended around 1100 BC, during the early Greek Dark Ages.[1] It represents the first advanced civilization in Europe, leaving behind a number of massive building complexes, sophisticated art, and writing systems. Its economy benefited from a network of trade around much of the Mediterranean.
City of Thebes
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Thebes was inhabited from around 3200 BC.[15] It was the eponymous capital of Waset, the fourth Upper Egyptian nome.
Old Kingdom of Egypt
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In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom is the period spanning c. 2700–2200 BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid-builders of the Fourth Dynasty, such as King Sneferu, who perfected the art of pyramid-building, and the kings Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure, who constructed the pyramids at Giza.[3] Egypt attained its first sustained peak of civilization during the Old Kingdom, the first of three so-called "Kingdom" periods (followed by the Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom), which mark the high points of civilization in the lower Nile Valley.[4]
First Recorded Revolt
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People in the city of Lagash in 2380 BCE instigated history's first recorded revolt. This came after Lagash's rulers had increased local taxes and had restricted personal freedoms. Lagash's bureaucrats had grown in wealth. The people of Lagash resented this enough that they overthrew their king. They brought to power a god-fearing ruler named Urukagina, who eliminated excessive taxation and rid the city of usurers, thieves and murderers – the first known reforms.
Akkadian Empire (2334 - 2154 BC)
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Founding Country: Ancient Mesopotamia – around modern-day Iraq, Capital City: Akkad The Akkadian Empire was the first empire of ancient Mesopotamia, which makes it the oldest empire in the world. Under the empire, Akkadians and Sumerians were united and many people were bilingual, speaking both the Akkadian and Sumerian language. There were eight kings over the duration of the Akkadian Empire: Sargon, Rimush, Manishtushu, Naram-Sin, Shar-Kali-Sharri, Interregnum, Dudu, and Shu-turul.
Assyrian Empire
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The Assyrian Empire is typically divided into four eras: the Early Assyrian Period, the Old Assyrian Empire, the Middle Assyrian Period, and the New Assyrian Period. Although the first capital city of Aššur was first established around 2600 BCE, during the Early Period, Assyrians were under the rule of the Akkadian Empire. While it was a kingdom during this time, the Assyrian Empire did not emerge until after the fall of the Akkadian Empire. During the height of the Assyrian Empire, it ruled over what the ancient Mesopotamian religion called the “Four Corners of the World”: as far north as the Caucasus Mountains, as far east as the Zargos Mountains, as far west as Cyrpus in the Mediterranean Sea, and as far south as the Arabian desert.
Indus Valley Civilization
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The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation,[1] was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form from 2600 BCE to 1900 BCE.[2][a] Together with ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, it was one of three early civilisations of the Near East and South Asia, and of the three, the most widespread, its sites spanning an area stretching from today's northeast Afghanistan, through much of Pakistan, and into western and northwestern India.[3][b] It flourished in the basins of the Indus River, which flows through the length of Pakistan, and along a system of perennial, mostly monsoon-fed, rivers that once coursed in the vicinity of the seasonal Ghaggar-Hakra river in northwest India and eastern Pakistan.[2][4]
Mycenaean civilization (1600-1100 BC)
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Mycenaean Greece (or the Mycenaean civilization) was the last phase of the Bronze Age in Ancient Greece, spanning the period from approximately 1600–1100 BC. It represents the first advanced and distinctively Greek civilization in mainland Greece with its palatial states, urban organization, works of art, and writing system.[1][2] The most prominent site was Mycenae, in the Argolid, after which the culture of this era is named. Other centers of power that emerged included Pylos, Tiryns, Midea in the Peloponnese, Orchomenos, Thebes, Athens in Central Greece and Iolcos in Thessaly. Mycenaean and Mycenaean-influenced settlements also appeared in Epirus,[3][4] Macedonia,[5][6] on islands in the Aegean Sea, on the coast of Asia Minor, the Levant,[7] Cyprus[8] and Italy.[9] The Mycenaean Greeks introduced several innovations in the fields of engineering, architecture and military infrastructure, while trade over vast areas of the Mediterranean was essential for the Mycenaean economy. Their syllabic script, the Linear B, offers the first written records of the Indo-European Greek language, and their religion already included several deities that can also be found in the Olympic Pantheon. Mycenaean Greece was dominated by a warrior elite society and consisted of a network of palace-centered states that developed rigid hierarchical, political, social and economic systems. At the head of this society was the king, known as wanax. Mycenaean Greece perished with the collapse of Bronze Age culture in the eastern Mediterranean, to be followed by the so-called Greek Dark Ages, a recordless transitional period leading to Archaic Greece where significant shifts occurred from palace-centralized to de-centralized forms of socio-economic organization (including the extensive use of iron).[10]
Hittite Empire 1600 BCE – 1178 BCE
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The Hittite Empire was established sometime around 1600 BCE and at its peak, encompassed most of Anatolia as well as parts of northern Levant (modern-day Syria) and Upper Mesopotamia (northwestern Iraq, northeastern Syria, and southeastern Turkey). Due to its geographic location, the Hittite Empire often came into fought with the Egyptian Empire, the Middle Assyrian Empire, and the Kingdom of Mitanni for control of the area.Founding Country: north-central Anatolia (parts of modern-day Turkey) Capital City: Hattusa
Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC)
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Archaeological findings providing evidence for the existence of the Shang dynasty, c. 1600–1046 BC, are divided into two sets. The first set, from the earlier Shang period, comes from sources at Erligang, Zhengzhou, and Shangcheng. The second set, from the later Shang or Yin (殷) period, is at Anyang, in modern-day Henan, which has been confirmed as the last of the Shang's nine capitals (c. 1300–1046 BC).[citation needed] The findings at Anyang include the earliest written record of the Chinese so far discovered: inscriptions of divination records in ancient Chinese writing on the bones or shells of animals—the "oracle bones", dating from around 1250 BC.[1]
Egyptian Empire (New Kingdom of Egypt) (1550 BCE – c.1077 BCE)
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Founding Country: Ancient Egypt, Capital City: Several cities throughout duration: Thebes, Akhetaten, Thebes again, Pi-Ramesses, and Memphis. Although the ancient Egyptians had first established its kingdom around 2686 BCE, the New Kingdom is the only era known as the Egyptian Empire. This period of ancient Egyptian history spans over the 18th, 19th , and 20th Dynasties of Egypt, which lasted from around 1550 BCE until 1077 BCE. During the Egyptian Empire, Egypt was at the height of its power and prosperity. Some of Egypt’s most well-known Pharaohs ruled during this time including Ahmose I, Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Amenhotep III, Akhenaten, Tutankhamun, and Ramesses II (“the Great”). Also under the Egyptian Empire, art and architecture flourished. The Valley of the Kings was built around this time – it is Egypt’s largest funerary complex containing the tombs of several Pharaohs and powerful nobles.
Egyptian Gold Mine
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The oldest known map of a gold mine was drawn in the 19th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt (1320–1200 BC), whereas the first written reference to gold was recorded in the 12th Dynasty around 1900 BC.[78] Egyptian hieroglyphs from as early as 2600 BC describe gold, which King Tushratta of the Mitanni claimed was "more plentiful than dirt" in Egypt.[79] Egypt and especially Nubia had the resources to make them major gold-producing areas for much of history. One of the earliest known maps, known as the Turin Papyrus Map, shows the plan of a gold mine in Nubia together with indications of the local geology. The primitive working methods are described by both Strabo and Diodorus Siculus, and included fire-setting. Large mines were also present across the Red Sea in what is now Saudi Arabia.
Iron Age
(1000 BC - O)
This era led to developments in agricultural production, and we see the first evidence of major religious texts.
-1000
First Millennium
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The first millennium BC is the formative period of the classical world religions, with the development of early Judaism and Zoroastrianism in the Near East, and Vedic religion and Vedanta, Jainism and Buddhism in India. Early literature develops in Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Sanskrit , Tamil and Chinese. The term Axial Age, coined by Karl Jaspers, is intended to express the crucial importance of the period of c. the 8th to 2nd centuries BC in world history. World population more than doubled over the course of the millennium, from about an estimated 50–100 million to an estimated 170–300 million. Close to 90% of world population at the end of the first millennium BC lived in the Iron Age civilizations of the Old World (Roman Empire, Parthian Empire, Graeco-Indo-Scythian and Hindu kingdoms, Han China). The population of the Americas was below 20 million, concentrated in Mesoamerica (Epi-Olmec culture); that of Sub-Saharan Africa was likely below 10 million. The population of Oceania was likely less than one million people.[2]
David, king of the ancient Israelites, dies (965 BC)
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David is described in the Hebrew Bible as the third king of the United Monarchy of Israel and Judah.[6][7] In the Books of Samuel, David is a young shepherd and harpist who gains fame by slaying the giant Goliath, a champion of the Philistines in southern Canaan. David becomes a favorite of the first king of united Israel, Saul, and forges a close friendship with Jonathan, a son of Saul.
Solomon becomes king of Israel, following the death of his father, King David. (962 BC - traditional date)
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Solomon was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament,[3] a fabulously wealthy and wise monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel who succeeded his father, David.[4] The conventional dates of Solomon's reign are about 970–931 BCE, normally given in alignment with the dates of David's reign. He is described as a king of the United Monarchy, which broke apart into the northern Kingdom of Israel and the southern Kingdom of Judah shortly after his death. Following the split, his patrilineal descendants ruled over Judah alone.[5]
Solomon completes the construction of the First Temple in Jerusalem. (957 BC)
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Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple (Hebrew: בֵּית-הַמִּקְדָּשׁ הָרִאשׁוֹן, romanized: Bēṯ hamMīqdāš hāRīʾšōn, lit. 'First House of the Sanctum'), was the first Temple in Jerusalem, according to the Hebrew Bible. It was built during Solomon's reign over the United Kingdom of Israel and was fully constructed by c. 957 BCE. It stood for almost four centuries until its destruction in 587/586 BCE by the Neo-Babylonian Empire under the second Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar II,[1] who subsequently exiled the Judeans to Babylon following the fall of the Kingdom of Judah and its annexation as a Babylonian province. The destruction of the Temple and the Babylonian exile were seen as fulfillments of Biblical prophecies and consequently strengthened Judaic religious beliefs, beginning the Israelites' transition from the polytheistic or monolatristic beliefs of Yahwism to the monotheistic beliefs developed in Judaism.[2]
Death of King Mo of Zhou, King of the Zhou Dynasty of China. (947 BC)
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King Mu of Zhou, personal name Ji Man, was the fifth king of the Zhou dynasty of China. The dates of his reign are 976–922 BC or 956–918 BC.[1][2]
Solomon, king of the ancient Israelites, dies. (931 BC)
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Link to King Solomon
Phorbas, King of Athens, dies after a reign of 30 years and is succeeded by his son Megacles. (922 BC)
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Link to more info
-900
New Reigns (900 BC)
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Kingdom of Kush.
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The Villanovan culture emerges in northern Italy.
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Foundation of Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka.
First historic solar eclipse is recorded in China. (780 BC)
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The first historic solar eclipse is recorded in China.
Kushite Empire (Nubian Dynasty) (760 BCE – 656 BCE)
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Capital City: Napata. Duration: 94 years, Founding Country: Ancient Egypt ruled by the Nubians from the Kingdom of Kush (modern-day northern Sudan and southern Egypt). The Kushite Empire, also known as the 25th Dynasty of Egypt and the Nubian Dynasty, occurred when the Nubians successfully invaded Ancient Egypt. The first king of the Kushite Empire was Piye, whose father Kashta had started the invasion of Upper Egypt. Their war brought together Upper Egypt, Lower Egypt, and Kush, forming the largest Egyptian empire since the New Kingdom (c.1550 BCE – c.1077 BCE). Under Piye, the construction of pyramids was revived and he built the oldest pyramid at the royal burial site of El-Kurru and also expanded the Temple of Amun at Jebel Barkal. The rulers after Piye also took interest in restoring Egyptian monuments and building some of their own. They also attempted to regain parts of Egypt from the Assyrians, but were unsuccessful.
Founding of Rome
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The ancient Romans were certain of the day Rome was founded: April 21, the day of the festival sacred to Pales, goddess of shepherds, on which date they celebrated the Par ilia (or Palilia). The most familiar date given for the foundation of Rome, 753 BC, was derived by the Roman antiquarian Titus Pomponius Atticus, and adopted by Marcus Terentius Varro, having become part of what has come to be known as the Varronian chronology.[30] An anecdote in Plutarch where the astrologer Lucius Tarrutius of Firmum provides an argument based on a non-existent eclipse and other erroneous astronomical details that Rome was founded in 753 BC suggests that this had become the most commonly accepted date.[31] Through its use by the third-century writer Censorinus, whose De Die Natali was the ultimate influence of Joseph Justus Scaliger's work to establish a scientific basis of ancient chronology, it became familiar.[31]
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Duke Zhuang of Zheng (Chinese: 鄭莊公; 757–701 BC) was the third ruler of the State of Zheng during the Spring and Autumn period in ancient China. His ancestral name was Ji (姬), given name Wusheng (寤生), which means "difficult birth" with breech presentation. In 743 BC, he became the duke of Zheng, and later defeated his younger brother Gongshu Duan, who had led a rebellion against him. Duke Zhuang led military campaigns in the name of the Zhou king against the Rong people and other Zhou states. He was considered by later scholars to have a Machiavellian attitude towards governance.
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King Huan of Zhou (Chinese: 周桓王; pinyin: Zhōu Húan Wáng; Wade–Giles: Chou Huan Wang; died 697 BC), personal name Jī Lín (姬林),[2] was the fourteenth king of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty[3][4] and the second of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770–256 BC). King Huan’s father was King Ping's son, Crown Prince Xiefu. Huan succeeded his grandfather in 719 BC.[5] The son and successor of Huan was King Zhuang of Zhou. In 707 BC, the royal forces were defeated in the Battle of Xuge (𦈡葛之战) by Duke Zhuang of Zheng (r. 743–701). The king himself was wounded by an arrow in the shoulder, and the defeat destroyed the prestige of the Zhou house.[6]
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In Roman mythology, Romulus and Remus (Latin: [ˈroːmʊlʊs], [ˈrɛmʊs]) are twin brothers whose story tells of the events that led to the founding of the city of Rome and the Roman Kingdom by Romulus. The killing of Remus by his twin, along with other tales from their story, has inspired artists throughout the ages. Since ancient times, the image of a she-wolf suckling the twins has been a symbol of the city of Rome and the ancient Romans. Although the tale takes place before the founding of Rome around 750 BC, the earliest known written account of the myth is from the late 3rd century BC. Possible historical basis for the story, as well as whether the twins' myth was an original part of Roman myth or a later development, is a subject of ongoing debate.
Start of the reign of Roman King Numa Pompilius (715 BC)
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Numa Pompilius reforms the Roman calendar. (-713)
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Numa Pompilius creates the office of Pontifex Maximus. (-712)
Spartan immigrants found Taras (Tarentum, the modern Taranto) colony in southern Italy. (706 BC)
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Around 706 BC, a group of Spartan immigrants led by Phalanthus founded the colony of Taras (Tarentum, modern-day Taranto) in southern Italy. These settlers were known for their militaristic Spartan heritage and established the city as a strategic port due to its natural harbor. The Spartans brought their cultural practices, including elements of their governmental structure and way of life, to Taras. Over time, the colony became prosperous, known for its trade, agriculture, and influence in the region. The Spartans' imprint on the colony's foundation contributed significantly to its development and character.
First Basic Railway (700 BC)
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700 BCE[1][2][3][4][5]:8–19 (11) - A basic form of the railway, the rutway,[5]:8–19 (8 & 15) - existed in ancient Greek and Roman times, the most important being the ship trackway Diolkos across the Isthmus of Corinth. Measuring between 6 and 8.5 km,[5]:8–19 (10)[6][7] remaining in regular and frequent service for at least 650 years,[1][2][3][4][5] and being open to all on payment, it constituted even a public railway, a concept that, according to Lewis, did not recur until around 1800.[5]:15 The Diolkos was reportedly used until at least the middle of the 1st century AD, after which no more written references appear.[5]:8–19 (11)
Carthaginian Empire (650 BCE – 146 BCE)
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Duration: 504 years. Founding Country: North Africa. Capital City: Carthage. The Phoenician city-state of Carthage was founded in 814 BCE. It gained its independence in 650 BCE and established its control over the other Phoenician settlements in the western Mediterranean – this was the start of the Carthaginian Empire. At its peak, the empire’s capital city of Carthage served as a major trading hub and was called the “shining city”, which ruled over 300 other cities. Throughout most of the empire’s history, it was at war with the Greeks in Sicily as well as the Roman Republic. These hostilities led to a series of armed conflicts known as the Greek-Punic Wars (c.600 BCE – 265 BCE) and the Punic Wars (264 BCE – 146 BCE). After the third and final Punic War sometime in 146 BCE, Carthage fell to the Roman Republic.
Coinage, Gold in the Black Sea (610 BC)
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Exploitation of gold in the south-east corner of the Black Sea is said to date from the time of Midas, and this gold was important in the establishment of what is probably the world's earliest coinage in Lydia around 610 BC
Siege of Jerusalem (589 BC)
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In 589 BC, Nebuchadnezzar II laid siege to Jerusalem, culminating in the destruction of the city and its temple in the summer of 587 according to Albright, or 586 BC according to Thiele.[1] In 2004, Rodger Young published an analysis in which he identified 587 BC for the end of the siege, based on details from the Bible and neo-Babylonian sources for related events.[2] Whereas the Nebuchadnezzar Chronicle provides information about the siege of Jerusalem in 597 BC, the only known records of the siege that culminated in Jerusalem's destruction are found in the Hebrew Bible.[3]
Achaemenid Empire (First Persian Empire - 550 BC)
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Founding Country: Ancient Near East (modern-day Iraq, southeast Turkey, southwest Iran, northeastern Syria, and Kuwait). Capital City: Several, but Babylon was the main capital.The Achaemenid Empire was the first Persian Empires and one of the largest empires ever in history. The empire was founded around 550 BCE by Cyrus the Great. Under his rule the empire expanded from the Ancient Near East to most of Southwest Asia, much of Central Asia, and the Caucasus, making it a larger empire than any previous empire. In addition to its military prowess, the Achaemenid Empire is notable for its successful model of a centralized, bureaucratic administration, for building infrastructure such as road systems as well as a postal system, the use of an official language across its territories, and the development of civil services. The decline of the empire is attributed to heavy tax burdens and the failure to create a national identity among its subjects from different nations.
Second Temple Period (516 BC)
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The Second Temple period in Jewish history lasted between 516 BCE and 70 CE,[1] when the Second Temple of Jerusalem existed. The sects of Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, Zealots and early Christianity were formed during this period. The Second Temple period ended with the First Jewish–Roman War and the Roman destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. After the death of the last Nevi'im (Jewish prophets) of antiquity and still under Persian rule, the leadership of the Jewish people was in the hands of five successive generations of zugot ("pairs of") leaders. They flourished first under the Persians (c. 539 – c. 332 BCE), then under the Greeks (c. 332–167 BCE), then under an independent Hasmonean Kingdom (140–37 BCE), and then under the Romans (63 BCE – 132 CE).
Greco-Persian Wars (499 BC)
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The Greco-Persian Wars (also often called the Persian Wars) were a series of conflicts between the Achaemenid Empire and Greek city-states that started in 499 BC[i] and lasted until 449 BC. The collision between the fractious political world of the Greeks and the enormous empire of the Persians began when Cyrus the Great conquered the Greek-inhabited region of Ionia in 547 BC. Struggling to control the independent-minded cities of Ionia, the Persians appointed tyrants to rule each of them. This would prove to be the source of much trouble for the Greeks and Persians alike. It might not seem like it, but the Greco-Persian Wars were a huge turning point in human history. If the Greeks had fallen and lost against the Persian Empire, like everyone else in the known world, the Western World would likely not have the democratic politics, art, literature, and science it does today. The Greeks not only won against the Persians, but they thrived thereafter all the way up to Alexander the Great.
Alexander the Great Born (356 BC)
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Alexander the Great was a king (basileus) of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon[a] and a member of the Argead dynasty. He was born in Pella in 356 BC and succeeded his father Philip II to the throne at the age of 20. He spent most of his ruling years on an unprecedented military campaign through Western Asia and Northeastern Africa, and by the age of thirty, he had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world, stretching from Greece to northwestern India.[1][2] He was undefeated in battle and is widely considered one of history's most successful military commanders.[3]
Djenné-Djenno trading site (250 BC)
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Djenné-Djenno (also Jenne-Jeno; /ˈdʒɛniː dʒʌˌnoʊ/) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the Niger River Valley in the country of Mali. Literally translated to "ancient Djenné", it is the original site of both Djenné and Mali and is considered to be among the oldest urbanized centers and the best-known archaeology site in sub-Saharan Africa.[2][3] This archaeological site is located about three kilometres (two miles) from the modern town, and is believed to have been involved in long distance trade and possibly the domestication of African rice.[3] The site is believed to exceed 33 hectares (82 acres) in area; however this is yet to be confirmed with extensive survey work.[3] With the help of archaeological excavations mainly by Roderick and Susan McIntosh, the site is known to have been occupied from 250 BC to 900 AD. The city is believed to have been abandoned and moved where the current city is located due to the spread of Islam and the building of the Great Mosque of Djenné. Previously, it was assumed that advanced trade networks and complex societies did not exist in the region until the arrival of traders from Southwest Asia. However, sites such as Djenné-Djenno disprove this, as these traditions in West Africa flourished long before.[4] More recently, it has been concluded that the egalitarian civilization of Djenne-Djenno was likely established by the Mande progenitors of the Bozo people, which spanned from 3rd century BCE to 13th century CE.[5]
The assassination of Marcus Livius Drusus (91 BC)
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The assassination of Marcus Livius Drusus leads to the Social War (91–88 BC) in Italy
Crown Prince Ju Revolt in China. (91 BC)
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Eventually, Emperor Wu began to realize that the witchcraft cases during 91 BC were often false accusations. In 89 BC, when Tian Qianqiu (田千秋), then the superintendent of Emperor Gao's temple, filed a report claiming that "a white-haired old man" told him in a dream that for the offence of armed uprising, Prince Ju would at most be caned, not killed, as a punishment, Emperor Wu realised what had really happened. Furious that the conspirators had abused his trust and plotted his son's death, he had Su Wen burned alive, Jiang Chong's immediate and extended family executed, and killed every official who had received promotions for tracking down the Crown Prince. He also promoted Tian Qianqiu to prime minister, and made major policy changes that supported the ideals supported by his dead son. To express his regret over causing his son's death, Emperor Wu also built the Palace of Son-Grieving (思子宮) and Platform of Longing for Return (歸來望思台), officially rehabilitating Liu Ju's name. Liu Ju's only surviving offspring, his grandson Liu Bingyi, would eventually become emperor (as Emperor Xuan) in 74 BC following the death of Crown Prince Ju's childless younger brother Emperor Zhao and a brief reign by their nephew, Prince He of Changyi. Out of respect for Emperor Zhao, Emperor Xuan did not initially attempt to restore the title of his grandfather. It was not until 73 BC that he restored Crown Prince Ju's title (but with the rather unflattering posthumous name of "Li", which means "unrepentant") and reburied his grandparents and parents.
Asiatic Vespers in Asia Minor (88 BC)
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80,000 Roman civilians killed in the Asiatic Vespers in Asia Minor
Death of the regent of China Jin Midi (86 BC)
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The death of the regent of China Jin Midi unleashes the rivalry of his co-regents Shangguang Jie and Huo Guang.
Spartacus leads slave rebellion (73 BC)
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A slave rebellion led by the escaped gladiator Spartacus leads to the Third Servile War.[1]
Pompey the Great ends the Sertorian War (71 BC)
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Pompey the Great ends the Sertorian War (restoring Roman control of Hispania) and the Third Servile War (restoring Roman control of southern Italy).[1]
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Wusun and China attack the Xiongnu.
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Pompey captures Jerusalem, and establishes Roman annexation of Judea as a client kingdom. He also permanently abolishes Seleucid Syria. Aristobulus II of Judea removed from power & John Hyrcanus II restored as Roman vassal.
Julius Caesar, Pompey the Great, and Marcus Crassus form the First Triumvirate (60 BC)
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The First Triumvirate[i] (60–53 BC) was an informal alliance among three prominent politicians in the late Roman Republic: Gaius Julius Caesar, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus and Marcus Licinius Crassus. The constitution of the Roman Republic was a complex set of checks and balances designed to prevent a man from rising above the rest and creating a monarchy. In order to bypass these constitutional obstacles, Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus forged a secret alliance in which they promised to use their respective influence to help each other. According to Goldsworthy, the alliance was "not at heart a union of those with the same political ideals and ambitions", but one where "all [were] seeking personal advantage".
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Pompey joins the Optimates and becomes sole Consul in Rome.
Ptolemy XIII deposes his co-regent Cleopatra (48 BC)
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Ptolemy XIII deposes his co-regent Cleopatra, beginning the Ptolemaic civil war in Egypt
Ptolemy XIII deposes his co-regent Cleopatra (48 BC)
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Ptolemy XIII deposes his co-regent Cleopatra, beginning the Ptolemaic civil war in Egypt
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Dictator perpetuo (English: "dictator in perpetuity"), also called dictator in perpetuum,[2] was the office held by Julius Caesar from 26 January or 15 February of the year 44 BCE until his death on 15 March.[3] By abandoning the time restrictions usually applied in the case of the Roman dictatorship, it elevated Caesar's dictatorship into the monarchical sphere.
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Julius Caesar re-founds Carthage and Corinth as Roman colonies.
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Assassination of Julius Caesar on the Ides of March.[1]
Octavian, Mark Antony, and Lepidus form the Second Triumvirate (43 BC)
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Octavian, Mark Antony, and Lepidus form the Second Triumvirate and take control of Rome.
Herod the Great becomes king of Judea. (37 BC)
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Herod I, also known as Herod the Great, was a Roman client king of Judea,[3][4][5] referred to as the Herodian kingdom. He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea, including his renovation of the Second Temple in Jerusalem and the expansion of the Temple Mount towards its north,[6] the enclosure around the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, the construction of the port at Caesarea Maritima, the fortress at Masada, and Herodium. Vital details of his life are recorded in the works of the 1st century CE Roman–Jewish historian Josephus.[7]
Cleopatra and Mark Antony perform the Donations of Alexandria. (34 BC)
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The Donations of Alexandria (Autumn 34 BC) were a political act by Cleopatra VII and Mark Antony in which they distributed lands held by Rome and Parthia amongst Cleopatra's children, and granted them many titles, especially for Caesarion, son of Julius Caesar. These were the second of two such donations; a similar donations ceremony was held two years earlier in Antioch in 36 BC, at which time the donations enjoyed Octavian's full approval of the Antonian strategy to rule the East making use of Cleopatra's unique royal Seleucid lineage in the regions donated.[1] Ultimately, the Donations (of 34 BC) caused a fatal breach in Antony's relations with Rome and were amongst the causes of the Final War of the Roman Republic.
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Augustus eventually assumes all authority formerly held by the Roman senate becoming the first emperor. This is traditionally taken as the end of the Roman Republic and the beginning of the Principate (27 BC-AD 235).[1]
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The Pax Romana (Latin for "Roman Peace") is a roughly 200-year-long timespan of Roman history which is identified as a period and golden age of increased as well as sustained Roman imperialism, order, prosperous stability, hegemonial power and expansion, despite a number of revolts, wars and continuing competition with Parthia. It is traditionally dated as commencing from the accession of Caesar Augustus, founder of the Roman principate, in 27 BC and concluding in 180 AD with the death of Marcus Aurelius, the last of the "Five Good Emperors".[1] Since it was inaugurated by Augustus with the end of the Final War of the Roman Republic, it is sometimes called the Pax Augusta. During this period of approximately two centuries,[2] the Roman Empire achieved its greatest territorial extent and its population reached a maximum of up to 70 million people.[3] According to Cassius Dio, the dictatorial reign of Commodus, later followed by the Year of the Five Emperors and the crisis of the third century, marked the descent "from a kingdom of gold to one of iron and rust".[4]
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Wang Mang (Chinese: 王莽) (c. 45 BC – 6 October 23 AD), courtesy name Jujun (Chinese: 巨君; pinyin: Jùjūn), was the founder and the only emperor of the short-lived Chinese Xin dynasty.[note 1] He was originally an official and consort kin of the Han dynasty and later seized the throne in AD 9. The Han dynasty was restored after his overthrow, and his rule marked the separation between the Western Han dynasty (before Xin) and Eastern Han dynasty (after Xin). Some historians have traditionally viewed Wang as a usurper, while others have portrayed him as a visionary and selfless social reformer. Though a learned Confucian scholar who sought to implement the harmonious society he saw in the classics, his efforts ended in chaos. In 23 October AD, the capital Chang'an was attacked and the imperial palace ransacked. Wang Mang died in the battle. The Han dynasty was re-established in either 23 AD when the Gengshi Emperor took the throne, or in 25 AD when Emperor Guangwu of Han took the throne after defeating the Red Eyebrows who deposed the Gengshi Emperor.
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Jesus[e] (c. 4 BC – AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus Christ,[f] was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious leader.[11] He is the central figure of Christianity, the world's largest religion. Most Christians believe he is the incarnation of God the Son and the awaited messiah (the Christ), prophesied in the Hebrew Bible.
Emperor Ai of Han appoints his unpopular homosexual lover Dong Xian as head of armed forces and administration. (2 BC)
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Emperor Ai of Han appoints his unpopular homosexual lover Dong Xian as head of armed forces and administration.
Emperor Ai of Han dies and is succeeded by his eight year old cousin Ping (1 BC)
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Emperor Ai of Han dies and is succeeded by his eight year old cousin Ping. Wang Mang is appointed regent and begins wide-ranging reforms.
Modern Era
(0 - Present)
Enough happened 2000 years ago that it seems appropriate to start the modern age at 0 following all of the events.
0
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In Europe, the 0s saw the continuation of conflict between the Roman Empire and Germanic tribes in the Early Imperial campaigns in Germania. Tiberius, Ahenobarbus, Vinicius and Varus led Roman forces in multiple punitive campaigns, before sustaining a major defeat at the hands of Arminius in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. Concurrently, the Roman Empire fought the Bellum Batonianum against an alliance of native peoples in two regions of Illyricum, Dalmatia and Pannonia, led by Bato the Daesitiate. In AD 8, the Breuci of the Sava valley surrendered, but it took a winter blockade and another season of fighting before the surrender in Dalmatia in AD 9. A conflict also took place in Korea, where Daeso, King of Dongbuyeo invaded Goguryeo with a 50,000-man army in 6 AD. He was forced to retreat when heavy snow began to fall, stopping the conflict until the next decade. In China, Wang Mang established the Xin dynasty.
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Wang Mang begins a program of personal aggrandizement, restoring marquess titles to past imperial princes and introducing a pension system for retired officials. Restrictions are placed on the Emperor's mother, Consort Wei and members of the Wei Clan. The first census is concluded in China after having begun the year before: final numbers show a population of nearly 60 million (59,594,978 people in slightly more than 12 million households). The census is one of the most accurate surveys in Chinese history.[4] The Chinese census shows nearly one million people living in Vietnam.
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Jesus[e] (c. 4 BC – AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus Christ,[f] was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious leader.[11] He is the central figure of Christianity, the world's largest religion. Most Christians believe he is the incarnation of God the Son and the awaited messiah (the Christ), prophesied in the Hebrew Bible. Christianity originated with the ministry of Jesus in the 1st century Roman province of Judea. According to the Gospels, Jesus was a Jewish teacher and healer who proclaimed the imminent kingdom of God and was crucified c. AD 30–33. His followers believed that he was then raised from the dead and exalted by God, and would return soon at the inception of God's kingdom. The earliest followers of Jesus were apocalyptic Jewish Christians.
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The New Testament has 27 books, written between about 50 and 100 AD, and falling naturally into two sections: the Gospels, which tell the story of Jesus (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John); and the Letters (or epistles) - written by various Christian leaders to provide guidance for the earliest church communities.
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The First Council of Nicaea (/naɪˈsiːə/; Ancient Greek: Νίκαια [ˈnikεa]) was a council of Christian bishops convened in the Bithynian city of Nicaea (now İznik, Turkey) by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD 325. This ecumenical council was the first effort to attain consensus in the church through an assembly representing all Christendom. Hosius of Corduba may have presided over its deliberations.[4][5] Its main accomplishments were settlement of the Christological issue of the divine nature of God the Son and his relationship to God the Father,[2] the construction of the first part of the Nicene Creed, mandating uniform observance of the date of Easter,[6] and promulgation of early canon law.[3][7]
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Built by the Roman Emperor Constantine in 330 CE, Constantinople served as the Byzantine Empire’s capital for centuries. Famous for its impervious walls, few thought it could actually be conquered.
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Born in 570 CE, Muhammad was born in Mecca, and at the age of 40, he claimed to receive a vision from the angel Gabriel. He continued to receive these revelations, which became the Quran. His teachings and message drew crowds but also swift opposition. He took his followers out of Mecca to Medina but eventually would gather so many followers, he’d return to conquer Mecca. As we know today, his impact on Middle Eastern culture and the world grew with the religion of Islam, becoming the second most popular religion in the world.
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The Exarchate of Africa was a division of the Byzantine Empire centered around Carthage, Tunisia, that encompassed its possessions on the Western Mediterranean. Ruled by an exarch (viceroy), it was established by the Emperor Maurice in the late 580s and survived until the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb in the late 7th century.
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Heraclius (Greek: Ἡράκλειος Herakleios; c. 575 – 11 February 641), sometimes called Heraclius I, was the Byzantine emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the exarch of Africa, led a revolt against the unpopular usurper Phocas.
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The Umayyad empire (661–750) who introduced the "first purely Arab coinage" in Palestine also developed a system of postal service.[5] Khans distributed along the main north-south and east-west roads that served as resting places for pilgrims and travellers facilitated the operation of the postal service, known as the barid.[6] A postal system known as the Barīd (Arabic: بريد) was also operated under the rule of the Abbasid caliphate (750–969), and the word is still used today for "mail" throughout the Arab world.[7][8] Under Fatimid rule (969–1099), a pigeon post was maintained that was later perfected by the Mamluks. The pedigrees of carrier pigeons were kept in a special registrar.[9]
1000
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Domesday Book (/ˈduːmzdeɪ/ or US: /ˈdoʊmzdeɪ/, Middle English for "Doomsday Book";[1][2] Latin: Liber de Wintonia "Book of Winchester") is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William the Conqueror. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle states:[3]
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The Siege of Jerusalem (7 June – 15 July 1099) was waged by European forces of the First Crusade, resulting in the capture of the Holy City of Jerusalem from the Muslim Fatimid Caliphate, and laying the foundation for the Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem, which lasted almost two centuries. The capture of Jerusalem was the final major battle of the first of the Crusades to liberate and occupy the Holy Land begun in 1095. A number of eyewitness accounts of the siege were recorded, the most quoted being that from the anonymous Gesta Francorum. Upon the declaration of the secular state, Godfrey of Bouillon, prominent among the leaders of the crusades, was elected ruler, eschewing the title "king." The siege led to the mass slaughter of thousands of Muslims and Jews and to the conversion of Muslim holy sites on the Temple Mount into Christian shrines.[11]
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Around 1100, the Normans in southern Italy completed their Catalogus Baronum based on Domesday Book. The original manuscript was destroyed in the Second World War, but printed copies survive.[19]
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Map of France in 1180, at the height of the feudal system. The possessions of the French king are in light blue, vassals to the French king in green, Angevin possessions in red. Shown in white is the Holy Roman Empire to the east, the western fringes of which, including Upper Burgundy and Lorraine, were also part of the Old French areal. The origin of the Kingdom of Portugal lay in the reconquista, the gradual reconquest of the Iberian peninsula from the Moors.[4]
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Magna Carta Libertatum (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter of Freedoms"), commonly called Magna Carta (also Magna Charta; "Great Charter"),[a] is a royal charter[4][5] of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215.[b] First drafted by Archbishop of Canterbury Stephen Langton to make peace between the unpopular king and a group of rebel barons, it promised the protection of church rights, protection for the barons from illegal imprisonment, access to swift justice, and limitations on feudal payments to the Crown, to be implemented through a council of 25 barons. Neither side stood behind their commitments, and the charter was annulled by Pope Innocent III, leading to the First Barons' War.
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The first university to be founded by charter was the University of Naples in 1224, founded by an imperial charter of Frederick II. The first university founded by royal charter was the University of Coimbra in 1290, by King Denis of Portugal, which received papal confirmation the same year. Other early universities founded by royal charter include the University of Perpignan (1349; papal confirmation 1379) and the University of Huesca (1354; no confirmation), both by Peter IV of Aragon, the Jagiellonian University (1364; papal confirmation the same year) by Casimir III of Poland, the University of Vienna (1365; Papal confirmation the same year) by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, the University of Caen (1432; Papal confirmation 1437) by Henry VI of England, the University of Girona (1446; no confirmation) and the University of Barcelona (1450; papal confirmation the same year), both by Alfonso V of Aragon, the University of Valence (1452; papal confirmation 1459) by the Dauphin Louis (later Louis XI of France), and the University of Palma (1483; no confirmation) by Ferdinand II of Aragon.[21]
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Around 1250 in France at Toulouse, 96 shares of the Société des Moulins du Bazacle, or Bazacle Milling Company were traded at a value that depended on the profitability of the mills the society owned, making it probably the first company of its kind in history.[16][17] The Swedish company Stora has documented a stock transfer for an eighth of the company (or more specifically, the mountain in which the copper resource was available) as early as 1288.
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Guilds and livery companies are among the earliest organisations recorded as receiving royal charters. The Privy Council list has the Saddlers Company in 1272 as the earliest, followed by the Merchant Taylors Company in 1326 and the Skinners Company in 1327. The earliest charter to the Saddlers Company gave them authority over the saddlers trade; it was not until 1395 that they received a charter of incorporation.[78] The Merchant Taylors were similarly incorporated by a subsequent charter in 1408.[79]
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Count of Barcelos (in Portuguese Conde de Barcelos) is a title of nobility, the first to be granted in Portugal. It was created in 1298 by king Denis I and initially it was a non hereditary title, although most of the holders belonged to the Teles de Menezes family. It was only after the death of the 6th Count, when it was granted to Nuno Álvares Pereira, that the title became hereditary. The 8th Count of Barcelos was created Duke of Braganza in 1442, by his nephew king Afonso V, and his descendants rose to the Portuguese throne after the country regained its independence from Spain in 1640.
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As the Rum Sultanate declined well into the 13th century, Anatolia was divided into a patchwork of independent Turkish principalities known as the Anatolian Beyliks. One of these beyliks, in the region of Bithynia on the frontier of the Byzantine Empire, was led by the Turkish tribal leader Osman I (d. 1323/4), a figure of obscure origins from whom the name Ottoman is derived.[35] Osman's early followers consisted both of Turkish tribal groups and Byzantine renegades, with many but not all converts to Islam.[36][37] Osman extended the control of his principality by conquering Byzantine towns along the Sakarya River.
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The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Afro-Eurasia from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causing the death of 75–200 million people in Eurasia and North Africa, peaking in Europe from 1347 to 1351.Wikipedia
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Before the arrival of the first Sultan, Malacca was a fishing village. Malacca was founded by Parameswara, also known as Iskandar Shah. He found his way to Malacca around 1402 where he found a good port—it was accessible in all seasons and on the strategically located narrowest point of the Malacca Straits.[23] In collaboration with allies from wandering proto-Malay privateers of the Straits called the orang laut ("sea-people"), he established Malacca as an international port by compelling passing ships to call there, and establishing fair and reliable facilities for warehousing and trade.[23] In 1403, the first official Chinese trade envoy led by Admiral Yin Qing arrived in Malacca. Later, Parameśwara was escorted by Zheng He and other envoys in his successful visits. Malacca's relationships with Ming China granted it protection from attacks by Siam and Majapahit. Malacca officially submitted to Ming China as a protectorate. This encouraged the development of Malacca into a major trade settlement on the trade route between China and India, Middle East, Africa and Europe.[24]
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The earliest form of matchlock in Europe appeared by 1411 and in the Ottoman Empire by 1425.[8] This early arquebus was a hand cannon with a serpentine lever to hold matches.[9] However this early arquebus did not have the matchlock mechanism traditionally associated with the weapon. The exact dating of the matchlock addition is disputed. The first references to the use of what may have been matchlock arquebuses (tüfek) by the Janissary corps of the Ottoman army date them from 1394 to 1465.[8] However it is unclear whether these were arquebuses or small cannons as late as 1444, but according to Gábor Ágoston the fact that they were listed separate from cannons in mid-15th century inventories suggest they were handheld firearms, though he admits this is disputable.[10] Godfrey Goodwin dates the first use of the matchlock arquebus by the Janissaries to no earlier than 1465.[11]
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Johannes Gutenberg's work on the printing press began in approximately 1436 when he partnered with Andreas Dritzehn—a man who had previously instructed in gem-cutting—and Andreas Heilmann, owner of a paper mill.[38] However, it was not until a 1439 lawsuit against Gutenberg that an official record existed; witnesses' testimony discussed Gutenberg's types, an inventory of metals (including lead), and his type molds.[38]
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Built by the Roman Emperor Constantine in 330 CE, Constantinople served as the Byzantine Empire’s capital for centuries. Famous for its impervious walls, few thought it could actually be conquered. However, with the rise and spread of Islam, the capital eventually fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. With the Ottoman Turks now having a foothold in Europe, the balance of power suddenly changed. Many Greeks converted to Islam or fled west. The conquest symbolized a victory for Islam as they saw Constantinople as an affront to them.
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The War of the Roses (Fourth Turning, 1459–1487) began with an irrevocable break between the ruling Houses of Lancaster and York. After a bloody civil war, Yorkist kings (Edward IV, Edward V, Richard III) mostly prevailed in reigns that were punctuated with invasions and rebellions. At Bosworth Field (in 1485), Henry Tudor defeated Richard III and crowned himself Henry VII, founder of a new royal dynasty. Two years later he defeated a pretender at the Battle of Stoke, which won him the enduring confidence of his subjects.
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The term Catholic Monarchs[a][b] refers to Queen Isabella I of Castile[1] and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, whose marriage and joint rule marked the de facto unification of Spain.[2] They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being both descended from John I of Castile; to remove the obstacle that this consanguinity would otherwise have posed to their marriage under canon law, they were given a papal dispensation by Sixtus IV. They married on October 19, 1469, in the city of Valladolid; Isabella was eighteen years old and Ferdinand a year younger. It is generally accepted by most scholars that the unification of Spain can essentially be traced back to the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella. Spain was formed as a dynastic union of two crowns rather than a unitary state, as Castile and Aragon remained separate kingdoms until the Nueva Planta decrees of 1707–1716. The court of Ferdinand and Isabella was constantly on the move, in order to bolster local support for the crown from local feudal lords. The title of "Catholic King and Queen" was officially bestowed on Ferdinand and Isabella by Pope Alexander VI in 1494,[3] in recognition of their defence of the Catholic faith within their realms.At the time of their marriage on October 19, 1469, Isabella was eighteen years old and the heiress presumptive to the Crown of Castile, while Ferdinand was seventeen and heir apparent to the Crown of Aragon. They met for the first time in Valladolid in 1469 and married within a week. From the start, they had a close relationship and worked well together. Both knew that the crown of Castile was "the prize, and that they were both jointly gambling for it". However, it was a step toward the unification of the lands on the Iberian peninsula, which would eventually become Spain.
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The Tudor Renaissance (First Turning, 1487–1517) was an era of political and social consolidation. To popular acclaim, King Henry VII crushed challenges to his new dynasty and strengthened royal writs and commissions. On this foundation of central authority, births rose, commerce thrived, and construction boomed. The new sumptuous worldliness was best reflected in the palaces of Cardinal Wolsely. The era closed in a mood of cultural sterility.
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Since 1495, the French, the English and the Dutch entered the race of exploration after learning of these exploits, defying the Iberian monopoly on maritime trade by searching for new routes, first to the western coasts of North and South America, through the first English and French expeditions (starting with the first expedition of John Cabot in 1497 to the north, in the service of England, followed by the French expeditions to South America and later to North America), and into the Pacific Ocean around South America, but eventually by following the Portuguese around Africa into the Indian Ocean; discovering Australia in 1606, New Zealand in 1642, and Hawaii in 1778. Meanwhile, from the 1580s to the 1640s, Russians explored and conquered almost the whole of Siberia, and Alaska in the 1730s.
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The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation)[1] was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in particular to papal authority, arising from what were perceived to be errors, abuses, and discrepancies by the Catholic Church. The Reformation was the start of Protestantism and the split of the Western Church into Protestantism and what is now the Roman Catholic Church. It is also considered one of the events that signify the end of the Middle Ages and beginning of the early modern period in Europe.[2]
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The first clear and credible reference to smallpox inoculation in China comes from Wan Quan's (1499–1582) Douzhen Xinfa (痘疹心法) of 1549, which states that some women unexpectedly menstruate during the procedure, yet his text did not give details on techniques of inoculation.[4] Inoculation was first vividly described by Yu Chang in his book Yuyi cao (寓意草), or Notes on My Judgment, published in 1643.[citation needed] Inoculation was reportedly not widely practiced in China until the reign of the Longqing Emperor (r. 1567–1572) during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), as written by Yu Tianchi in his Shadou Jijie (痧痘集解) of 1727, which he alleges was based on Wang Zhangren's Douzhen Jinjing Lu (痘疹金鏡錄) of 1579.[4] From these accounts, it is known that the Chinese banned the practice of using smallpox material from patients who actually had the full-blown disease of Variola major (considered too dangerous); instead they used proxy material of a cotton plug inserted into the nose of a person who had already been inoculated and had only a few scabs, i.e. Variola minor[citation needed]. This was called "to implant the sprouts", an idea of transplanting the disease which fit their conception of beansprouts in germination. Needham quotes an account from Zhang Yan's Zhongdou Xinshu (種痘新書), or New book on smallpox inoculation, written in 1741 during the Qing dynasty (1644–1912), which shows how the Chinese process had become refined up until that point.
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The 1549 Consensus Tigurinus brought together those who followed Zwingli and Bullinger's memorialist theology of the Lord's supper, which taught that the supper simply serves as a reminder of Christ's death, and Calvin's view that the supper serves as a means of grace with Christ actually present, though spiritually rather than bodily. The document demonstrates the diversity as well as unity in early Reformed theology. The remainder of the 16th century saw an explosion of confessional activity. The stability and breadth of Reformed theology during this period stand in marked contrast to the bitter controversy experienced by Lutherans prior to the 1579 Formula of Concord.[14] Due to Calvin's missionary work in France, his programme of reform eventually reached the French-speaking provinces of the Netherlands.
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the earliest joint-stock company recognized in England was the Company of Merchant Adventurers to New Lands, chartered in 1553 with 250 shareholders. The Muscovy Company, which had a monopoly on trade between Russia and England, was chartered two years later in 1555. Soon afterwards, in 1602, the Dutch East India Company issued shares that were made tradable on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. The development enhanced the ability of joint-stock companies to attract capital from investors, as they could now easily dispose of their shares. In 1612, it became the first 'corporation' in intercontinental trade with 'locked in' capital and limited liability.[19] The joint-stock company became a more viable financial structure than previous guilds or state-regulated companies. The first joint-stock companies to be implemented in the Americas were the London Company and the Plymouth Company.[19]
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Direct maritime trade between Europe and China began in 1557 when the Portuguese leased an outpost from the Ming dynasty at Macau. Other European nations soon followed the Portuguese lead, inserting themselves into the existing Asian maritime trade network to compete with Arab, Chinese, Indian, and Japanese merchants in intra-regional commerce.[14] After the Spanish conquest of the Philippines the exchange of goods between China and Europe accelerated dramatically. From 1565 on, the Manila Galleons brought silver into the Asian trade network from mines in South America.[15] China was a primary destination for the precious metal, as the imperial government mandated that Chinese goods could only be exported in exchange for silver bullion.[16][17]
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The Armada Crisis (Fourth Turning, 1569–1594) began when the powerful Duke of Norfolk was linked to a Spanish plot against the English throne, a discovery which galvanized newly-Protestant England against the global threat of the Catholic Hapsburgs. A crescendo of surrogate wars and privateering culminated in England’s miraculous victory over the Spanish Armada invasion (in 1588). The mood of emergency relaxed after the successful resistance of Holland and the breaking of Spanish control over France.
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St. John's; claimed as England's first oversea colony by royal charter issued in 1583 by Queen Elizabeth I.
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Soon after the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, the captured Spanish and Portuguese ships with their cargoes enabled English voyagers to potentially travel the globe in search of riches.[12] London merchants presented a petition to Queen Elizabeth I for permission to sail to the Indian Ocean.[13] The aim was to deliver a decisive blow to the Spanish and Portuguese monopoly of Far Eastern Trade.[14] Elizabeth granted her permission and on 10 April 1591 James Lancaster in the Bonaventure with two other ships sailed from Torbay around the Cape of Good Hope to the Arabian Sea on one of the earliest English overseas Indian expeditions. Having sailed around Cape Comorin to the Malay Peninsula, they preyed on Spanish and Portuguese ships there before returning to England in 1594.[13] The biggest capture that galvanised English trade was the seizure of a large Portuguese carrack, the Madre de Deus by Sir Walter Raleigh and the Earl of Cumberland at the Battle of Flores on 13 August 1592.[15] When she was brought in to Dartmouth she was the largest vessel that had been seen in England and her cargo consisted of chests filled with jewels, pearls, gold, silver coins, ambergris, cloth, tapestries, pepper, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, benjamin (a tree that produces frankincense), red dye, cochineal and ebony.[16] Equally valuable was the ship's rutter (mariner's handbook) containing vital information on the China, India, and Japan trades. These riches aroused the English to engage in this opulent commerce.[15] In 1596, three more English ships sailed east but all were lost at sea.[13] A year later however saw the arrival of Ralph Fitch, an adventurer merchant who, along with his companions, had made a remarkable fifteen-year overland journey to Mesopotamia, the Persian Gulf, the Indian Ocean, India and Southeast Asia.[17] Fitch was then consulted on the Indian affairs and gave even more valuable information to Lancaster.[18]
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On 22 September 1599, a group of merchants met and stated their intention "to venture in the pretended voyage to the East Indies (the which it may please the Lord to prosper), and the sums that they will adventure", committing £30,133 (over £4,000,000 in today's money).[19][20] Two days later, "the Adventurers" reconvened and resolved to apply to the Queen for support of the project.[20] Although their first attempt had not been completely successful, they nonetheless sought the Queen's unofficial approval to continue. They bought ships for their venture and increased their capital to £68,373. The Adventurers convened again a year later, on 31 December, and this time they succeeded; the Queen granted a Royal Charter[13] to "George, Earl of Cumberland, and 215 Knights, Aldermen, and Burgesses"[citation needed] under the name, Governor and Company of Merchants of London trading into the East Indies.[13] For a period of fifteen years, the charter awarded the newly formed company a monopoly[21] on English trade with all countries east of the Cape of Good Hope and west of the Straits of Magellan.[citation needed] Any traders in breach of the charter without a licence from the company were liable to forfeiture of their ships and cargo (half of which went to the Crown and the other half to the company), as well as imprisonment at the "royal pleasure".[22] The governance of the company was in the hands of one governor and 24 directors or "committees", who made up the Court of Directors. They, in turn, reported to the Court of Proprietors, which appointed them. Ten committees reported to the Court of Directors. According to tradition, business was initially transacted at the Nags Head Inn, opposite St Botolph's church in Bishopsgate, before moving to India House in Leadenhall Street.[23]
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The most notable joint-stock company from the British Isles was the East India Company, which was granted a royal charter by Queen Elizabeth I on December 31, 1600 with the intention of establishing trade on the Indian subcontinent. The charter effectively granted the newly formed Honourable East India Company a fifteen-year monopoly on all English trade in the East Indies.[18]
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The Atlantic slave trade developed after trade contacts were established between the "Old World" (Afro-Eurasia) and the "New World" (the Americas). For centuries, tidal currents had made ocean travel particularly difficult and risky for the ships that were then available. Thus, there had been very little, if any, maritime contact between the peoples living in these continents.[16] In the 15th century, however, new European developments in seafaring technologies resulted in ships being better equipped to deal with the tidal currents, and could begin traversing the Atlantic Ocean; the Portuguese set up a Navigator's School (although there is much debate about whether it existed and if it did, just what it was). Between 1600 and 1800, approximately 300,000 sailors engaged in the slave trade visited West Africa.[17] In doing so, they came into contact with societies living along the west African coast and in the Americas which they had never previously encountered.[18] Historian Pierre Chaunu termed the consequences of European navigation "disenclavement", with it marking an end of isolation for some societies and an increase in inter-societal contact for most others.[19]
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The Amsterdam Stock Exchange (Dutch: Amsterdamse effectenbeurs) was considered the oldest "modern" securities market in the world.[22] It was shortly after the establishment of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in 1602 when equities began trading on a regular basis as a secondary market to trade its shares. Prior to that, the market existed primarily for the exchange of commodities.[23] In that year, the States General of the Netherlands granted the VOC a 21-year charter over all Dutch trade in Asia and quasi-governmental powers. The monopolistic terms of the charter effectively granted the VOC complete authority over trade defenses, war armaments, and political endeavors in Asia. The first multi-national corporation with significant resource interests was thereby established.
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English traders frequently engaged in hostilities with their Dutch and Portuguese counterparts in the Indian Ocean. The company achieved a major victory over the Portuguese in the Battle of Swally in 1612, at Suvali in Surat. The company decided to explore the feasibility of gaining a territorial foothold in mainland India, with official sanction from both Britain and the Mughal Empire, and requested that the Crown launch a diplomatic mission.[29] In 1612, James I instructed Sir Thomas Roe to visit the Mughal Emperor Nur-ud-din Salim Jahangir (r. 1605–1627) to arrange for a commercial treaty that would give the company exclusive rights to reside and establish factories in Surat and other areas. In return, the company offered to provide the Emperor with goods and rarities from the European market. This mission was highly successful, and Jahangir sent a letter to James through Sir Thomas Roe:[29] The company, which benefited from the imperial patronage, soon expanded its commercial trading operations. It eclipsed the Portuguese Estado da Índia, which had established bases in Goa, Chittagong, and Bombay – Portugal later ceded Bombay to England as part of the dowry of Catherine of Braganza on her marriage to King Charles II. The East India Company also launched a joint attack with the Dutch United East India Company (VOC) on Portuguese and Spanish ships off the coast of China, which helped secure EIC ports in China.[30] The company established trading posts in Surat (1619), Madras (1639), Bombay (1668), and Calcutta (1690). By 1647, the company had 23 factories, each under the command of a factor or master merchant and governor, and 90 employees[clarification needed] in India. The major factories became the walled forts of Fort William in Bengal, Fort St George in Madras, and Bombay Castle.
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In 1618 the lintel in Prague triggered the Thirty Years War, in which several European powers fought for religious and secular supremacy in Europe.
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The East India Company's own archives suggest that its involvement in the slave trade began in 1684, when a Captain Robert Knox was tasked with purchasing 250 slaves from Madagascar to be transported to St. Helena.[39] However, according to the Encyclopædia Britannica, it was the early 1620s when the East India Company began transporting slave labor to and using it in its facilities across Asia and the Atlantic.[40] Allen (2015) suggests that it was 1621.[41]
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The Puritan Awakening (Second Turning, 1621–1649) began with Parliament’s “Great Protestation.” Upon the accession of James’ son, the reformist urge turned radical and gained popular momentum. Seeking religious exile, John Winthrop led a “saving remnant” of true believers to America. In England, this Puritan Enthusiasm led to the Long Parliament (in 1640), civil war, and the execution of Charles I (in 1649). In the new wilderness colonies, the experimental fervor receded, leaving isolated settlements seeking an enforceable moral orthodoxy.
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In 1634, the Mughal emperor Jahangir extended his hospitality to the English traders to the region of Bengal,[31] and in 1717 completely waived customs duties for their trade. The company's mainstay businesses were by then cotton, silk, indigo dye, saltpetre, and tea. The Dutch were aggressive competitors and had meanwhile expanded their monopoly of the spice trade in the Straits of Malacca by ousting the Portuguese in 1640–1641. With reduced Portuguese and Spanish influence in the region, the EIC and VOC entered a period of intense competition, resulting in the Anglo-Dutch Wars of the 17th and 18th centuries. Within the first two decades of the 17th century, the Dutch East India Company or Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, (VOC) was the wealthiest commercial operation in the world with 50,000 employees worldwide and a private fleet of 200 ships. It specialised in the spice trade and gave its shareholders 40% annual dividend.[32] The British East India Company was fiercely competitive with the Dutch and French throughout the 17th and 18th centuries over spices from the Spice Islands. Spices, at the time, could only be found on these islands, such as pepper, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon; and they could bring profits as high as 400 percent from one voyage.[33] The tension was so high between the Dutch and the British East Indies Trading Companies that it escalated into at least four Anglo-Dutch Wars between them:[33] 1652–1654, 1665–1667, 1672–1674 and 1780–1784. The Dutch Company maintained that profit must support the cost of war which came from trade which produced profit.[34] Competition arose in 1635 when Charles I granted a trading licence to Sir William Courteen, which permitted the rival Courteen association to trade with the east at any location in which the EIC had no presence.[35] In an act aimed at strengthening the power of the EIC, King Charles II granted the EIC (in a series of five acts around 1670) the rights to autonomous territorial acquisitions, to mint money, to command fortresses and troops and form alliances, to make war and peace, and to exercise both civil and criminal jurisdiction over the acquired areas.[36] In 1689 a Mughal fleet commanded by Sidi Yaqub attacked Bombay. After a year of resistance the EIC surrendered in 1690, and the company sent envoys to Aurangzeb's camp to plead for a pardon. The company's envoys had to prostrate themselves before the emperor, pay a large indemnity, and promise better behaviour in the future. The emperor withdrew his troops, and the company subsequently re-established itself in Bombay and set up a new base in Calcutta.[37]
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The Wars of the Three Kingdoms,[b] sometimes known as the British Civil Wars,[c][d] were an intertwined series of conflicts that took place between 1639 and 1653 in the Kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland – separate kingdoms which had the same king, Charles I. The wars were fought mainly over issues of governance and religion, and included rebellions, civil wars and invasions. The English Civil War has become the best-known of these conflicts. It ended with the English parliamentarian army defeating all other belligerents, the execution of the King, the abolition of the monarchy, and the founding of the Commonwealth of England; a unitary republic which controlled the British Isles until 1660.
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The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge,[1] is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. Founded on 28 November 1660, it was granted a royal charter by King Charles II as "The Royal Society".[1] It is the oldest national scientific institution in the world.[2]
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Around 1670, two events caused the growth of VOC trade to stall. In the first place, the highly profitable trade with Japan started to decline. The loss of the outpost on Formosa to Koxinga in the 1662 Siege of Fort Zeelandia and related internal turmoil in China (where the Ming dynasty was being replaced with the China's Qing dynasty) brought an end to the silk trade after 1666. Though the VOC substituted Mughal Bengal's for Chinese silk, other forces affected the supply of Japanese silver and gold. The shogunate enacted a number of measures to limit the export of these precious metals, in the process limiting VOC opportunities for trade, and severely worsening the terms of trade. Therefore, Japan ceased to function as the lynchpin of the intra-Asiatic trade of the VOC by 1685.[96]
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The Hudson's Bay Company; founded by a royal charter issued in 1670 by King Charles II (administration of parts of current Quebec, Northern Ontario & North West Territories (including Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta) & Judicial connections with Upper Canada)[98]
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The Exclusion Crisis ran from 1679 until 1681 in the reign of King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland. Three Exclusion bills sought to exclude the King's brother and heir presumptive, James, Duke of York, from the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland because he was Roman Catholic. None became law. Two new parties formed. The Tories were opposed to this exclusion while the "Country Party", who were soon to be called the Whigs, supported it. While the matter of James's exclusion was not decided in Parliament during Charles's reign, it would come to a head only three years after he took the throne, when he was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Finally, the Act of Settlement 1701 decided definitively that Catholics were to be excluded from the English, Scottish and Irish thrones, now the British throne.
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The Thirteen Factories, also known as the Canton Factories, was a neighbourhood along the Pearl River in southwestern Guangzhou (Canton) in the Qing Empire from c. 1684 to 1856 around modern day Xiguan, in Guanzhou's Liwan District. These warehouses and stores were the principal and sole legal site of most Western trade with China from 1757 to 1842. The factories were destroyed by fire in 1822 by accident, in 1841 amid the First Opium War, and in 1856 at the onset of the Second Opium War. The factories' importance diminished after the opening of the treaty ports and the end of the Canton System under the terms of the 1842 Anglo-Chinese Treaty of Nanking. After the Second Opium War, the factories were not rebuilt at their former site south of Guangzhou's old walled city but moved, first to Henan Island across the Pearl River and then to Shamian Island south of Guangzhou's western suburbs. Their former site is now part of Guangzhou Cultural Park.
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The Brazilian Gold Rush was a gold rush that started in the 1690s, in the then Portuguese colony of Brazil in the Portuguese Empire. The gold rush opened up the major gold-producing area of Ouro Preto (Portuguese for black gold), then the aptly named Vila Rica ("Rich Town").[1] Eventually, the Brazilian Gold Rush created the world's longest gold rush period and the largest gold mines in South America. The rush began when bandeirantes discovered large gold deposits in the mountains of Minas Gerais.[2] The bandeirantes were adventurers who organized themselves into small groups to explore the interior of Brazil. Many bandeirantes were of mixed indigenous and European background who adopted the ways of the natives, which permitted them to survive in the interior rainforest. While the bandeirantes searched for indigenous captives, they also searched for mineral wealth, which led to the gold being discovered. More than 400,000 Portuguese and 500,000 African slaves came to the gold region to mine. Many people abandoned the sugar plantations and towns in the northeast coast to go to the gold region. By 1725, half the population of Brazil was living in southeastern Brazil. Officially, 800 metric tons of gold were sent to Portugal in the 18th century. Other gold circulated illegally, and still other gold remained in the colony to adorn churches and for other uses.[3] The municipality of Ouro Preto became the most populous city of Latin America, counting on about 40 thousand people in 1730 and, decades after, 80 thousand. At that time, the population of New York was less than half of that number of inhabitants and the population of São Paulo did not surpass 8 thousand.[4]
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The Acts of Union were two Acts of Parliament: the Union with Scotland Act 1706 passed by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act passed in 1707 by the Parliament of Scotland.
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His reign marked the ascendancy of the manipulative Syed Brothers, execution of the rebellious Banda. In 1717 he granted a Firman to the English East India Company granting them duty-free trading rights in Bengal. The Firman was repudiated by the notable Murshid Quli Khan the Mughal appointed ruler of Bengal.
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The Russian Empire,[d] commonly referred to as Imperial Russia, was a historical empire that extended across Eurasia and North America from 1721, succeeding the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad that ended the Great Northern War. The Empire lasted until the Republic was proclaimed by the Provisional Government that took power after the February Revolution of 1917.[5][6] The third-largest empire in history, at one point stretching over three continents—Europe, Asia, and North America—the Russian Empire was surpassed in size only by the British and Mongol empires. The rise of the Russian Empire coincided with the decline of neighboring rival powers: the Swedish Empire, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Persia, the Ottoman Empire, and Qing China.
Invention of the Kleistian jar (Leyden jar) (1745)
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On 11 October 1745 he independently invented the Kleistian jar which could store electricity in large quantities. He communicated this discovery to a group of Berlin scientists in late 1745, and the news was transferred in a confused form to Leyden University where it was further investigated. This became more commonly known as the Leyden jar after 's Gravesande's graduate student Pieter van Musschenbroek of Leyden.[1]
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French & Indian Wars (Third Turning, 1746–1773) was an era of unprecedented economic and geographic mobility. Swept into a final war against New France in the 1750s, the colonists hardly celebrated Britain’s total victory (in 1760) before renewing thunderous debates over how to salvage civic virtue from growing debt, cynicism, and wildness. With colonial leadership at a low ebb, popular fears soon targeted the alleged corruption of the English Parliament and empire.
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The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolutionary War, gaining independence from the British Crown and establishing the United States of America, the first modern constitutional liberal democracy.Wikipedia
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The Tammany Society, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was founded in New York on May 12, 1789, originally as a branch of a wider network of Tammany Societies, the first having been formed in Philadelphia in 1772.[8] The society was originally developed as a club for "pure Americans".[9] The name "Tammany" comes from Tamanend, a Native American leader of the Lenape. The society adopted many Native American words and also their customs, going so far as to call their meeting hall a wigwam. The first Grand Sachem, as the leader was titled, was William Mooney, an upholsterer of Nassau Street.[10] Although Mooney claimed the top role in the early organization, it was a wealthy merchant and philanthropist named John Pintard who created the society's constitution and declared its mission as "[a] political institution founded on a strong republican basis whose democratic principles will serve in some measure to correct the aristocracy of our city." Pintard also established the various Native American titles of the society.[11] The Society had the political backing of the Clinton family in this era, whereas the Schuyler family backed the Hamiltonian Federalists, and the Livingstons eventually sided with the anti-federalists and the Society.[12] The Society assisted the federal government in procuring a peace treaty with the Creek Indians of Georgia and Florida at the request of George Washington in 1790 and also hosted Edmond-Charles Genêt in 1793, representative of the New French Republic after the French Revolution toppled the old regime.[13]
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American Revolution (Fourth Turning, 1773–1794) began when Parliament’s response to the Boston Tea Party ignited a colonial tinderbox—leading directly to the first Continental Congress, the battle of Concord, and the Declaration of Independence. The war climaxed with the colonial triumph at Yorktown (in 1781). Seven years later, the new “states” ratified a nation-forging Constitution. The crisis mood eased once President Washington weathered the Jacobins, put down the Whiskey Rebels, and settled on a final treaty with England.
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The Ancient Order of Druids (AOD) is the senior druidic order in the world, and the oldest in continuous existence. It has been revived in London, England, in 1781. It is represented in England, Wales, Scotland and the Commonwealth of Nations. Its motto is Justice, Philanthropy and Brotherly Love.
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The French Revolution (French: Révolution française [ʁevɔlysjɔ̃ fʁɑ̃sɛːz]) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considered fundamental principles of liberal democracy,[1] while phrases like Liberté, égalité, fraternité reappeared in other revolts, such as the 1917 Russian Revolution,[2] and inspired campaigns for the abolition of slavery and universal suffrage.[3] Its values and the institutions it created dominate French politics to this day.[4] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution)
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The Sierra Leone Company was the corporate body involved in founding the second British colony in Africa on 11 March 1792 through the resettlement of Black Loyalists who had initially been settled in Nova Scotia (the Nova Scotian Settlers) after the American Revolutionary War. The company came about because of the work of the ardent abolitionists, Granville Sharp, Thomas Clarkson, Henry Thornton, and Thomas's brother, John Clarkson, who is considered one of the founding fathers of Sierra Leone. The company was the successor to the St. George Bay Company, a corporate body established in 1790 that re-established Granville Town in 1791 for the 60 remaining Old Settlers. January 20 – The Sierra Leone Company, faced with bankruptcy because of the outlawing of the slave trade in British colonies, petitions the British government for purchase and transfer of its property to the Crown; Parliament approves the transfer on July 29, and it takes effect on January 1, 1808.[2]
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Legal battles around the 1796 patent taken out by James Watt for his steam engine, established the principles that patents could be issued for improvements of an already existing machine and that ideas or principles without specific practical application could also legally be patented.[18]
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The Anglo-Spanish War was a conflict fought between 1796 and 1802, and again from 1804 to 1808, as part of the Coalition Wars. The war ended when an alliance was signed between Great Britain and Spain, which was now under French invasion.
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The first significant gold rush in the United States was in Cabarrus County, North Carolina (east of Charlotte), in 1799 at today's Reed's Gold Mine.[4] Thirty years later, in 1829, the Georgia Gold Rush in the southern Appalachians occurred. It was followed by the California Gold Rush of 1848–55 in the Sierra Nevada, which captured the popular imagination. The California gold rush led directly to the settlement of California by Americans and the rapid entry of that state into the union in 1850. The gold rush in 1849 stimulated worldwide interest in prospecting for gold, and led to new rushes in Australia, South Africa, Wales and Scotland. Successive gold rushes occurred in western North America: Fraser Canyon, the Cariboo district and other parts of British Columbia, in Nevada, in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, and western New Mexico Territory and along the lower Colorado River. Resurrection Creek, near Hope, Alaska was the site of Alaska's first gold rush in the mid–1890s.[5] Other notable Alaska Gold Rushes were Nome, Fairbanks, and the Fortymile River.
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The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European powers formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of French domination over most of continental Europe. The wars stemmed from the unresolved disputes associated with the French Revolution and its resultant conflict. The wars are often categorised into five conflicts, each termed after the coalition that fought Napoleon: the Third Coalition (1805), the Fourth (1806–07), the Fifth (1809), the Sixth (1813–14), and the Seventh (1815).
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The North River Steamboat or North River, colloquially known as the Clermont, is widely regarded as the world's first vessel to demonstrate the viability of using steam propulsion for commercial water transportation.[1] Built in 1807, the North River Steamboat operated on the Hudson River – at that time often known as the North River – between New York City and Albany, New York. She was built by the wealthy investor and politician Robert Livingston and inventor and entrepreneur Robert Fulton (1765–1815).
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These Orders in Council were a series of decrees, in the form of Orders in Council, made by the Privy Council of the United Kingdom in the course of the wars with Napoleonic France which instituted its policy of commercial warfare. The Orders are important for the role they played in shaping the British war effort against France, but they are also significant for the strained relations—and sometimes military conflict—they caused between Great Britain and neutral countries, whose trade was affected by them. In Europe, restrictive British trade policy, as enacted in the Orders, led to the formation of the Second League of Armed Neutrality and deteriorating relations with other neutral powers, notably Denmark (with whom the British would fight a series of wars) and Russia. In the Atlantic, the Orders in Council were one of the main sources of tension between the United Kingdom and the United States which led to the War of 1812.
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The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was a conflict fought between the United States and its indigenous allies on one side, and the United Kingdom, its dependent colonies in North America, indigenous allies, and Spain on the other.[f] The conflict formally began when the United States declared war on 18 June 1812, and officially ended with the Treaty of Ghent, which was signed on 24 December 1814. The Treaty of Ghent was signed by both American and British diplomats and also ratified by the British government in December 1814, but according to the terms of the treaty, peace did not take effect until the United States government also ratified it, which happened almost two months later on 17 February 1815.
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Gold was made the official standard in England “The Gold Standard” (1816)
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The First Opium War (Chinese: 第一次鴉片戰爭; pinyin: Dìyīcì Yāpiàn Zhànzhēng), also known as the Opium War or the Anglo-Chinese War, was a series of military engagements fought between Britain and the Qing dynasty of China. The immediate issue was Chinese official seizure of opium stocks at Canton to stop the banned opium trade, and threatening the death penalty for future offenders. The British government insisted on the principles of free trade, equal diplomatic recognition among nations, and backed the merchants' demands. The British navy defeated the Chinese using technologically superior ships and weapons, and the British then imposed a treaty that granted territory to Britain and opened trade with China.
Founding of Havas - French news agency, created in 1835
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The original Havas was the first French news agency, created in 1835. The Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency comes from it. Havas was acquired by Vivendi in 1998, and renamed Vivendi Universal Publishing. VUP in turn merged with Lagardere to become Editis in 2004. The company which today bears the name Havas is itself a former subsidiary of the company which acquired the rights to the name in 2002. It is a holding company headquartered in Puteaux, Paris. French corporate raider Vincent Bolloré, through his holding company the Bolloré Group, is the main shareholder, controlling 32.84% of the share capital as of 7 May 2012. Bolloré himself took over the chairmanship of the Havas board (Président du conseil d'administration). In November 2017, Havas acquired Malaysia-based agency Immerse and rebranded to Havas Immerse.[3]
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The Great Emigration of 1843 involved thousands of pioneers who set out from the United States to the Oregon Country along the Oregon Trail. Motivated by the prospect of fertile land and economic opportunities, this mass movement, led by figures like Marcus Whitman and John C. Fremont, played a crucial role in the westward expansion of the United States. The emigrants faced challenges such as harsh conditions and interactions with Native American populations, but their journey marked a significant chapter in American history, contributing to the settlement of the Oregon Territory. The group included 120 wagons, about 1,000 people and thousands of livestock. Their trek began on May 22 and lasted five months.
French Revolution of 1848
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The 1848 Revolution in the History of France, also known as the February Revolution (révolution de février), was the series of revolutionary events that ended the July Monarchy (1830–1848) and led to the creation of the French Second Republic. It was part of a wave of revolutions in 1848 in Europe. Following the overthrow of King Louis Philippe in February 1848, the Second Republic was ruled by a provisional government. In the months that followed, this government steered a course that became more conservative, which led to the start on June 1848[1] of the June Days uprising, a bloody but unsuccessful rebellion by the Paris workers. In November 1848 a new constitution was implemented, and the next month Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (Napoléon III) was elected president of the Second Republic. The February revolution established the principle of the right to work (droit au travail), and its newly established government created National Workshops (ateliers nationaux) for the unemployed. At the same time a type of industrial parliament was established at the Luxembourg Palace, under the presidency of Louis Blanc, with the object of preparing a scheme for the further organization of labor. Ultimately, tensions between liberal Orléanist and Radical Republicans and Socialists led to the June Days Uprising.
Australian Gold Rush (1851)
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Various gold rushes occurred in Australia over the second half of the 19th century. The most significant of these, although not the only ones, were the New South Wales gold rush and Victorian gold rush in 1851,[3] and the Western Australian gold rushes of the 1890s. They were highly significant to their respective colonies' political and economic development as they brought many immigrants, and promoted massive government spending on infrastructure to support the new arrivals who came looking for gold. While some found their fortune, those who did not often remained in the colonies and took advantage of extremely liberal land laws to take up farming.
American Civil War (1861)
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The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 9, 1865) (also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States fought between the Union (states that remained loyal to the federal union, or "the North") and the Confederacy (states that voted to secede, or "the South").[e] The central cause of the war was the status of slavery, especially the expansion of slavery into territories acquired as a result of the Louisiana Purchase and the Mexican–American War. On the eve of the Civil War in 1860, four million of the 32 million Americans (~13%) were enslaved black people, almost all in the South.[14]
Founding of Mitsubishi (1870)
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The Mitsubishi Group (三菱グループ, Mitsubishi Gurūpu, informally known as the Mitsubishi Keiretsu) is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 1870 to 1946. The company was disbanded during the occupation of Japan following World War II. The former constituents of the company continue to share the Mitsubishi brand and trademark. Although the group companies participate in limited business cooperation, most famously through monthly "Friday Conference" executive meetings, they are formally independent and are not under common control. The four main companies in the group are MUFG Bank (the largest bank in Japan), Mitsubishi Corporation (a general trading company), Mitsubishi Electric and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (both diversified manufacturing companies).
German Empire (1871)
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The German Empire was founded on January 18, 1871. The inner founding of the empire now had to follow the outer one. A difficult process, because the empire was a league of German princes and relied on their power. With a Catholic center and a young social democracy, the new state also faced important political and social forces.
Venezuela Gold Rush (1871)
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The gold mine at El Callao (Venezuela), started in 1871, was for a time one of the richest in the world, and the goldfields as a whole saw over a million ounces exported between 1860 and 1883. The gold mining was dominated by immigrants from the British Isles and the British West Indies, giving an appearance of almost creating an English colony on Venezuelan territory. Between 1883 and 1906 Tierra del Fuego experienced a gold rush attracting many Chileans, Argentines and Europeans to the archipelago. The gold rush begun in 1884 following discovery of gold during the rescue of the French steamship Arctique near Cape Virgenes.[9]
Return of Owners of Land (1873)
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The two-volume Return of Owners of Land, 1873 is the first complete picture of the distribution of land in Great Britain[1] since the 1086 Domesday Book. The 1873 Return is sometimes called the "Modern Domesday".[2] It arose from the desire of the Victorian governing landed classes, many of whom sat in the House of Lords, to counter rising public clamour (encouraged by the press) about what was considered the monopoly of land. Karl Marx (d. 1883), who had lived in London since 1849, published Das Kapital in 1867. It influenced European political thought, prompting the British Establishment to extinguish revolutionary sentiment in the United Kingdom.
Saccharin (1879)
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Saccharin was produced first in 1879, by Constantin Fahlberg, a chemist working on coal tar derivatives in Ira Remsen's laboratory at Johns Hopkins University.[19] Fahlberg noticed a sweet taste on his hand one evening, and connected this with the compound benzoic sulfimide on which he had been working that day.[20][21] Fahlberg and Remsen published articles on benzoic sulfimide in 1879 and 1880.[9][22] In 1884, then working on his own in New York City, Fahlberg applied for patents in several countries, describing methods of producing this substance that he named saccharin.[23] Two years later, he began production of the substance in a factory in a suburb of Magdeburg in Germany. Fahlberg would soon grow wealthy, while Remsen merely grew irritated, believing he deserved credit for substances produced in his laboratory. On the matter, Remsen commented, "Fahlberg is a scoundrel. It nauseates me to hear my name mentioned in the same breath with him."[24] Although saccharin was commercialized not long after its discovery, until sugar shortages during World War I, its use had not become widespread. Its popularity further increased during the 1960s and 1970s among dieters, since saccharin is a calorie-free sweetener. In the United States, saccharin is often found in restaurants in pink packets; the most popular brand is "Sweet'n Low". Because of the difficulty of importing sugar from the West Indies, the British Saccharin Company was founded in 1917 to produce saccharin at its Paragon Works near Accrington, Lancashire. Production was licensed and controlled by the Board of Trade in London. Production continued on the site until 1926. Starting in 1907, the United States Food and Drug Administration began investigating saccharin as a result of the Pure Food and Drug Act. Harvey Wiley, then the director of the bureau of chemistry for the FDA, viewed it as an illegal substitution of a valuable ingredient, sugar, by a less valuable ingredient. In a clash that had career consequences, Wiley told President Theodore Roosevelt, "Everyone who ate that sweet corn was deceived. He thought he was eating sugar, when in point of fact he was eating a coal tar product totally devoid of food value and extremely injurious to health." But Roosevelt himself was a consumer of saccharin, and, in a heated exchange, Roosevelt angrily answered Wiley by stating, "Anybody who says saccharin is injurious to health is an idiot." The episode proved the undoing of Wiley's career.[25] Food Inspection Decision 135 stated that foods containing saccharin were adulterated.[26] However, in 1912, Food Inspection Decision 142 stated that saccharin was not harmful.[27]
Africa Gold Rush (1886)
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In South Africa, the Witwatersrand Gold Rush in the Transvaal was important to that country's history, leading to the founding of Johannesburg and tensions between the Boers and British settlers as well as the Chinese miners.[7] South African gold production went from zero in 1886 to 23% of the total world output in 1896. At the time of the South African rush, gold production benefited from the newly discovered techniques by Scottish chemists, the MacArthur-Forrest process, of using potassium cyanide to extract gold from low-grade ore.[8]
Wildwood Amusement Park (1889)
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Wildwood Amusement Park was an amusement park and picnic grounds that existed from 1889 to 1932 on the southeast shore of White Bear Lake in Mahtomedi, Minnesota, United States.[1] The park was built and operated by the Minneapolis and St. Paul Suburban Railroad Company, a subdivision of the Twin City Rapid Transit Company, which ran a streetcar line from Mahtomedi to nearby St. Paul.[2] It was the sister park of Big Island Amusement Park on Lake Minnetonka, as both were intended to draw crowds of people to opposite ends of the Minneapolis-St. Paul streetcar system on weekends.[3] Wildwood Amusement Park proved to be more successful than Big Island Amusement Park, which closed in 1911, and lasted until 1932 when financial losses brought about its demise.[4]
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The Gold Standard Act of 1900 was a pivotal piece of legislation passed by the United States Congress. It solidified the nation's commitment to the gold standard, fixing the value of the dollar to a specific amount of gold. The act set the gold price at $20.67 per ounce, establishing gold as the sole standard for redeeming paper money. This measure aimed to provide stability to the US currency by ensuring that paper money could be exchanged for a fixed amount of gold. The Gold Standard Act was a significant milestone in monetary policy, shaping the US financial system until its abandonment during the Great Depression in the 1930s.
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In 1903, Chicago was one of the most unionized cities in the world. Nearly 243,000 Chicagoans belonged to unions, about a quarter of the workforce. One-third of these worked in a single industry (meatpacking). The Teamsters were vitally important to the Chicago labor movement, for a sympathy strike by the Teamsters could paralyze the movement of goods throughout the city and bring a strike into nearly every neighborhood.[9] On July 12, 1904, 18,000 members of the Amalgamated Meat Cutters working in the meatpacking industry in Chicago walked off the job to win higher wages.[13]
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The October Revolution, officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution under the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Coup, the Bolshevik Revolution, the October Uprising, the October Coup or Red October, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was instrumental in the larger Russian Revolution of 1917–1923.Wikipedia
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The prototype of the LP was the soundtrack disc used by the Vitaphone motion picture sound system, developed by Western Electric and introduced in 1926. For soundtrack purposes, the less-than-five minutes of playing time of each side of a conventional 12-inch 78 rpm disc was not acceptable. The sound had to play continuously for at least 11 minutes, long enough to accompany a full 1,000-foot (300 m) reel of 35 mm film projected at 24 frames per second. The disc diameter was increased to 16 inches (40 cm) and the speed was reduced to 33+1⁄3 revolutions per minute. Unlike their smaller LP descendants, they were made with the same large "standard groove" used by 78s.
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The Great Depression started in the United States after a major fall in stock prices that began around September 4, 1929, and became worldwide news with the stock market crash of October 29, 1929, which was known as Black Tuesday. Between 1929 and 1932, worldwide gross domestic product (GDP) fell by an estimated 15%. By comparison, worldwide GDP fell by less than 1% from 2008 to 2009 during the Great Recession.[4] Some economies started to recover by the mid-1930s. However, in many countries, the negative effects of the Great Depression lasted until the beginning of World War II.[5]
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The Long March (October 1934-October 1935) which began the ascent to power of Mao Tse-Tung and the Chinese Communist Party.
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The invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939, marking the beginning of World War Two (WWII). World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers.Wikipedia
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The modern concept of town twinning has its roots in the Second World War. More specifically, it was inspired by the bombing of Coventry on 14 November 1940, known as the Coventry Blitz.[3] The idea emerged as a way of establishing solidarity links between cities in allied countries that went through similar devastating events. In response to the Battle of Stalingrad, 830 women in Coventry – led by its Mayor Emily Smith – had their names embroidered on a tablecloth along with the words “Little help is better than big sympathy” and sent it, along with money (each donated six pence), to the people of Stalingrad.[4][5] The tablecloth can now be seen at the Panorama Museum of the Battle of Stalingrad. The twinning between Coventry and Stalingrad was formalised in 1944 [6] and, after the end of the war, similar links were established to foster friendship and understanding among former foes as an act of peace and reconciliation,[2][7] with new twinnings between Coventry and German cities: Kiel as early as in 1947 and Dresden in 1956.[3] The purpose of twinnings got then expanded to encourage trade and tourism[1] or to reflect other links, such as towns sharing the same name or migration links.[8] By the 2000s, town twinning became increasingly used to form strategic international business links among member cities,[9][10] and may include localities of any scope such as villages, prefectures, or countries.
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On 28 October 1940, on the radio station KTSA in San Antonio, Texas, Wells took part in a radio interview with Orson Welles, who two years previously had performed a famous radio adaptation of The War of the Worlds. During the interview, by Charles C Shaw, a KTSA radio host, Wells admitted his surprise at the widespread panic that resulted from the broadcast but acknowledged his debt to Welles for increasing sales of one of his "more obscure" titles.[99]
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The attack on Pearl Harbor[nb 3][10] was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, just before 08:00, on Sunday, December 7, 1941. The United States was a neutral country at the time; the attack led to its formal entry into World War II the next day. The Japanese military leadership referred to the attack as the Hawaii Operation and Operation AI,[11][nb 4] and as Operation Z during its planning.[13]
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The ‘Bretton Woods Agreement’ of 1944 which led to the creation of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the system of floating foreign exchange rates - See more at: https://www.britishcouncil.org/80moments/?_e_pi_=7%2CPAGE_ID10%2C5655166218#sthash.UEPyVjqI.dpuf
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The invention of the atomic bomb and the explosion of atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima (6 August 1945) and Nagasaki (9 August).
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