Timeline of Early Modern Period

Early Modern 1450-1750

1450   Northern Renaissance in Europe
1453   Constantinople falls: end of Byzantine Empire; rise of Ottoman Empire
1462   Much of Russia freed by Ivan II (Ivan the Great) from Tartars
1464-1591   Kingdom of Songhai in Africa
1479   Formation of single Spanish monarchy
1480   Expulsion of Tartars from Russia
1493  Beginning of Spanish govt in the Americas (2nd voyage of Christopher Columbus)
1498  Vasco da Gama (Portugal) to India
16th cent  Portugal acquires trading rights and some trading stations in Siam, Burma, Indonesia; Spanish, Portuguese, and Dutch ports on West African coast
1500-1519  Spanish conquest of West Indies, including Puerto Rico and Cuba
1501  Introduction of African slaves in Latin America
1517  Martin Luther’s 95 Theses; beginning of the Protestant Revolution
1519-1521  Ferdinand Magellan’s expedition around the world
1520-1566  Sűleyman (Suleiman) the Magnificent
1520-1580  Height of encomienda system in Spanish America
1526-1761  Mughal Empire in India (officially 1857)
1527-1542  Viceroyalties established for Central and South America
1531  Francisco Pizarro’s conquest of the Inca Empire
1533-1584  Ivan the Terrible (Ivan IV), first to be called czar; boyar power reduced
1542  Portuguese traders to Japan
1549  First Portuguese government in Brazil
1550-1649  Religious wars in France, Germany, Britain
1557  Macao taken by Portugal
1562  Beginning of British slave trade in Africa
1569  Catholic Inquisition set up for Spanish America; limitation of intellectual freedom
1574-1800  Mita forced mine-labor system in Andean Spanish America
1577-1598  Hideyoshi , general in Japan; more centralized government and new isolation policy
1588  Defeat of Spanish Armada by English
1591  Fall of Songhai Empire
17^th cent  British and French forts on east coast of India; scientific revolution in Europe
1600’s  Rise of serfdom in Eastern Europe; beg. of rapid pop. growth, especially in Asia
1600-1750  Proto-industrialization in Western Europe
1600-1800  Height of African slave trade
1600-1868  Tokugawa Shogunate
1608  First trade concession from regional princes in India granted to England
1613-1917  Romanov dynasty in Russia
1641  Capture by Dutch of major spice trade center in Indonesia; beg. of control of isl. of Java
1643-1715  Louis XIV in France; absolute monarchy
1644-1912  Qing dynasty
1652  Dutch colony on Cape of Good Hope
1670-1740’s  Height of sugar plantation system and slavery in northeastern Brazil
1688-1690  Glorious Revolution in Britain; parliamentary regime; some religious toleration; political writing of John Locke
1689-1725  Peter the Great18^th cent  Mughal decline; rise of Sikh state(1708ff.) and states in southern India; Enlightenment in Europe
1700-1800  Sugar plantation system and African slavery expand in the Caribbean
1717ff.  Spanish colonial control increased in Latin America; the “Bourbon Reforms”
1727  Chinese-Russian frontier treaty