AP EURO (please let me get a 3)

The Black Death was an illness that spread rapidly around Europe in the 14th century, killing millions of people. The disease caused fever, vomiting, and swollen lymph nodes, death and many other symptoms. It spread quickly through trade routes and crowded cities. It was caused by germs carried by bugs on rats. The Black Death had a terrible impact on society, causing fear everywhere, made people not believe in God, and economic problems that changed society in Europe for years.

The Renaissance was a rebirth that was in Europe from the 14th to the 17th century. It was set apart by an interest in classical learning, literature, art, and science. The Renaissance also marked a shift towards humanism, where people studied more on people's performances and potential. In this time, there were alot of changes in areas such as sculpting, architecture, painting and writing.

The fall of the Byzatne Empire occured in 1453 when the Ottoman Turks took over Costantinople (The capital at the time). This ended the Byzatine empire and marked the start of the Ottoman reign.

The Gutenberg Printing Press was a invention created in the 15th Century by Johannes Gutenberg. It was the first of its kind, using movable type to print and make books. This would make it much faster, easier and cheaper to produce books. This creation changed the world in communication and helped spread messages like never before throughout Europe.

The War of roses was a series of civil wars that were in England that were fought in the 15th century. The war was fought between the House of Lancester and The House of York. Both sides were fighting for the English throne, the conflict finally ended when Henry Tudor defeated Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. Henry became Henry The V11 and started the Tudors. 

When Columbus came to the Americas (AKA The New world) He had three things in mind, God, Gold and Glory. He wanted to spread Christ (God), Gain fame, (Glory) and get rich (Gold). The reconquista of Spain by Ferdinand and Isabella was a time in Spanish history where christian kingdoms in Spain took over Muslim territories. This lasted from the 8th century to 15th century. This ended Muslim control on the Iberian Peninsula.

“The Prince” was a novel made by Niccolo Machiavelli in 1513. Its central theme is how rulers can gain power and maintain it. He claims that rulers should always be feared rather than liked. Rulers should use any means necessary to get what they want, including violence.

Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door on Halloween 1517 on a door of a church in 1517. This act changed religon forever. THis act started the protestant reformation - a movement to change the Catholic Church for the Better. Luther wanted to change the sale of indulgences, and he wanted to teach old biblical ways instead.

Charles V was one of the Holy Roman Emperors. During his time as emperor, he got into conflicts with France, Protestant Reformation and the Ottoman Empire. He inherited a empire that included the Netherlands, Italy, and Spain.

The act of supremacy was passed in England making Henry VIII the leader of the Anglican Church. This allowed Henry to stray away from the pope and make himself one of the “Big Names” in the church instead.

 During 1543, Copernicus made "On the Revolution of the Heavenly Orbs," establishing the idea that the Earth revolves around the Sun, and that the Earth isn’t the center of the Universe. Starting the Scientific Revolution and the idea of heliocentrism.

The Scientific Revolution was a time of  change in science and education that occurred in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries. Scientists started using observations to look at and study the world around them. This was a breakthrough, because before they would only rely on ancient beliefs. This led to many developments in physics, astronomy, and other fields, laying down the blueprint for modern sciences.

During 1545 the Council of Trent started, beginning the start of the Catholic Reformation. This was called by the Catholic Church to change issues protested by the Protestants. It maintained Catholic teachings, retaught Catholicism like how it used to be, and showed the importance of education and order within the Catholic Church.

The Peace of Augsburg was signed in 1555 in Germany. This ended all religious wars by letting German Royalty choose either Lutheranism or Catholicism for their Land. Religious freedom was allowed to Protestants and they were admitted their rights in the Holy Roman Empire.

The War of the Three Henrys was a war in France from 1585-1589 that ended the Wars of Religion. It had three main rulers: Henry of Navarre, Henry III and Henry of Guise, who showed different religions. The war ended with the death of Henry III and the victory of Henry Navarre who changed his name to Henry IV and became a Catholic to take the throne. This brought a end to religious conflict in France.

During 1588 the Spanish Armada, a army sent by Spain to take over England, was attacked by the English military. The English army, Sir Francis Drake (the leader), used smaller, more maneuverable ships to attack. Also a storm that wrecked the Spaniard ships and helped destroy them. This win started a critical point in the battles between Spain and England. This raised England's power.

The Edict of Nantes started in 1598 ended all the religious wars in that were France. The Edict gave religious freedom to all  Protestants and let them practice their religion freely in some certain places.  This helped bring peace to France after a period of battles between Protestants and Catholics.

The Thirty Years' War was a prolonged war in Europe from 1618-1648. It had many countries involved. The war was fought over religious reasons. The war finished with the Peace of Westphalia, that started new regulations for the European diplomacy and granted religious freedom to all Protestants, this let Protestants practice their religion whenever and wherever they want.

The English Civil War was fought from 1642-1646 between supporters of the Parliament of England (Roundheads) and supporters of the ruler of England (Cavaliers). The Cavaliers were led by King Charles I.  He wanted more power for the monarchy; but the Roundheads, that were led by Oliver Cromwell, really needed more power for the Parliament. The Roundheads won; This led to the killing of Charles I and the starting of a republican type of government in England.  

Galileo was forced to take back his studies in heliocentricity, which says that the Earth revolves around the Sun and the Earth is not the center of the Universe. The Church did not like this because it stood against the classic belief that the Earth was the center of the universe. Galileo was put on a trial and faced penalty if he did not take back what he said , so he said yes to renounce his studies to get away from dealing with a punishment.

Louis XIV reigned over France and was a absolute ruler; having the nickname "The Sun King" Louis gained centralized power, expanded French land,, and advanced the arts, culture, literature, ect. But, his spending and wars led to economic problems and anger among the people.

The Glorious Revolution happened in England, where Mary of orange and William replaced James II as monarchs. James II was disliked for his Catholicism and rule; William and Mary were requested to rule together, with minimum with power by Parliament.

John Locke made"Two Treatises on Government," which was a written piece  that argued for natural rights, limited government, and the right to rebel against unjust and unfair rulers. It effected ideas of modern government and showed the importance of liberty and consent of the governed.

In Peter the Great's Rule, He was completely set on modernizing the country to make it just like western Europe. He changed the military, banned beards  to make his citizens look more western, made a navy and promoted education more. With all of these innovations, Peter made Russia a major European power. 

The Peace of Utrecht in 1713 ended the war of Spanish SUccession. It acknowledged Phillip V as the offical ruler of Spain, but stopped the union of the thrones of France and Spain. It also followed in land changes, like England taking over Gibraltar and some parts of North America.

Maria Theresa of Austria’s rule started when the Austrian war of succession started in 1740. She faced many struggles from other European countries, but she put in many reforms and centralized power. Her rule brought much needed stability to austria. She also continued to have tensions with Prussia.

Frederick The Great ruled Prussia from 1740-1786. He was very enlightened. Frederick promoted religious freedom/tolerence, economic development and education. He also modernized the military very well. Prussia improved and became a better place under his rule.

The Industrial Revolution started in England around 1750. It was a time of quick changes in technology, the working industry, factories, ect. More cities were built, pollution increased and populations sky rocketed. The steam engine was created and many other inventions that made manual labor so much easier, quicker, and cheaper. More jobs were created and more people were making money. 

The Illegitimacy explosion is when a bunch of children was born around 1750. This was due to alot of things, including things like premarital sex, breakdown of traditonal family structures and changes in social attitudes. This continued through the 18th and 19th century aswell. This led to many shifts in family dynamics. 

Catherine The Great reigned over russia from 1762-1796. She also modernized the country, made the boarder bigger, promoted the arts and education, reformed the legal system and strengthened the nobility. She faced challenges with a few neighboring countries. Her rule is seen as a time of progress in Russia.    

The treaty of Paris in 1763 ended the 7 years war. Spain gave Florida to England and got Louisana from France. England took over Canada and some land east of the Mississippi River from France. France lost most of its Colonies in North America.

Joseph II rule in Austria lasted only 10 years, (1780-1790). During his rule he introduced many reforms in the country; including, getting rid of serfdom, education, and promoting religion. But many people hated and opposed these reformes, and most of these were rid of after he died.

The Radical era of the French Revolution was shown by extreme changes and extreme violence. The royalty was completely rid of. France is now a republic. The Reign Of Terror, that was led by The Committee Of Public Safety killed thousands of people by chooping their heads off. The radical stage ended by the execution of Robespierre and the establishment of a better government. 

Napolean Bonaparte came to power in 1799 in France after a coup detat. He overthrew the government and made himself the first consul; becoming the first ruler of France. This marked the beginning of Napoleon's rise to power. 

The Congress of Vienna met from 1814-1815 to bring France back to normal after the French revolution. Representatives from major European countries gathered to balance power to prevent future conflicts, and establish new political boundaries. The congress wanted to restore royalty in France and bring back peace.

Louis Philippe of France ruled from 1830-1848. France had a period of stability and economic growth which really helped France at this time. Belgium and Greece also gained independence from their rulers, Belgium broke away from the Netherlands while Greece broke away from the Ottoman Empire. 

England dilated voting rights and redistributed parliamentary seats to better represent urban areas. It expanded the amount of people who could vote, it helped power away from rich landowners.

Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx made the Communist Manifesto which showed their ideas for an ideal socialist society. This was a major time for revolution for around western Europe, especially in Germany, Italy, and Austria. People needed change. Most of these protests ultimately ended, they layed the blueprint for the future of Europe.

The end of the illegitimacy explosion started a shift towards middle class values and changed family values. This saw a decline in children born out of wedlock. Conservative values were very big at this time as well.

Alexander emancipated serfs in Russia, he gave them more rights. This was a big reform that was focused on modernizing Russia and improving the country overall. But the country was still not perfect overall.

Germany and Italy both unified in 1870-1871. Germany unified under Prussia that was led by Otto von Bismarck - after beating France in the Franco - Prussian War. Italy was unfied under King victor emmanuel II and Prime minister count camillo count cavour. 

Italy was unified under King Victor Emmanuel II and Prime minister Count Camillo Cavour. They took over Rome and other lands.

Bloody Sunday started a revolution in Russia - Leading to many people having uncomfortable feelings and unrest. Many people wanted reforms. Also, Albert Enstien showed his theory of relativity, this changed humanitys understanding of time, gravity and space.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand - The ruler of Austria Hungary was killed in Sarajevo. This event started a domino effect that ended with world war 1. As Austra - Hungary Declared war with Serbia. This started the chain reactions of allies and battles involving many territories.

In february 1917, protests in russia led to get rid of the tsar nicholas the ii. THis was the February revolution. In October of that year, the bolshevik party seized power from the government in russia - this was the october revolution. This started communism in russia.

In 1918 - the treaty of Brest Litovsk was signed between Russia and the Central Powers, ending Russias part in WW1. Russia left the war and gave up land to Germany and its allies.

Oswald Spengler made the book “The decline of the west” In this novel, he said that the west will eventually collapse. He said that all civilizations have a cycle - and the west is currently in its “WInter phase” meaning it will die soon.

Benito Mussolini came to power in Italy after he led a mrch down in Rome. He made the first Fascist government aka the fascist party. This showed nationalism, authoritarian rule, and the suppression of political opposition. (No protesting).

Stalin established himself as the leader of the Solviet Union (Russia). He began putting in a series of 5 year plans that fastly industrialized Russia and made the economy better. These plans illustrated collectivization of farming and industry and infrastructure. 

In 1929 the stock market Plummeted and the US economy hit an all time low. EVeryone was extremely poor and many people lost their homes and jobs. Not many people could eat and afford basic necessities. The whole world economy was affected due to this. Not many people could afford a well off life - and if they could, they were helping the poor.

Adolf Hitler comes into power in Germany quickly after becoming Chancellor. He quickly took advantage of this power and became a dictator under the Nazi party, Hitlers rise to power started a time a persecution and aggressive expansionism in Germany.

The Munich Confernce took place where leaders from Britian, Italy, France, and Germany agreed to let Germany annex the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia. British Prime minister declared “Peace in our time” after the conference. But this appeasement failed to stop world war 2 as Germany continued its tension, leading up to the poland invasion.

World War 2 started in 1939 when Germany invaded Poland. The invasion made France and Britian start a battle with Germany, starting a Global tension involving many territories.

World war 2 ended on May 8th 1945. Germany and Japan lostand the Alies won. Allies (US, Britian, Solviet Union) defeated the Axis Powers. The war in the pacific ended on september 2nd 1945 after bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

The Cold War was a war between the US and Russia/Solviet Union from 1945-1989. No direct fighting was happening but both sides were competing for influence and power, they competed over weapons and politics. Through all of this it included prixy wars and development of nuclear weapons. The cold war ended when the Solviet Union ended.

Decolonization began in 1946. European colonies started to gain independence, this was a process where countries in other continents gainecd independence from their rulers. It marked the beginning of the end of colonialism and the beginning of self rule for so many nations around the world.

Winston Churchill announced the iron curtain speech in 1948. This was warning the division of Europe by Solviet Communism. Around the same time the Berlin Airlift took place - this was where the western allies supplied west Berlin by air after the wall was built. In 1949 NATO was developed. Where western countries would go against the soviet union.

Stalin died in 1953. He was the leader of the Solviet Union. His successor was Nikita Khrushchev- who started something called “destalinzation” - this was basically just reversing Stalins policies.

There was a Hungarian revolt (these were mostly college students) in 1957 against the soviet union. Hungarians protested against soviet control - However the Solviet union their army to fight the revolt. This resulted in a tradegy. 1000s of people died.

The Rome treaty was signed in 1957 - starting the EEC. This treaty wanted to promote economic integration with European countries and make a common market. In the same year - The soviet Union launched sputnik the worlds first fake satellite into space, this is the start of the space race between Russia and the US (The US wins)

The Berlin Wall was built in 1961 by east Germany to prevent people to escape west Berlin. It was a Big wall that physically seperated the two parts of the city - this was wrong for so many reasons, this separated families, people could not get to their jobs ect. One side was democratic and the other was communist. The east side was communist - The west side was democratic.

Vatican ii began in 1962. This was a major council of the Catholic Church. This focused on Changing and reforming some of the practices of the church. Making it more accessable to the modern world.

The Cuban Missle Crisis was in 1963. This all unfolded when the USA discovered Russian weapons in CUba. Tensions between the 2 countries reached a turning point. But they were resolved with intense negotiations. Russia / S.U. agreed to get rid of the weapons if the USA did not invade Cuba and removed weapons from Turkey.

Czechoslovakia experienced a “plague spring” in 1968. This was a period of liberlization and reform. But it was destroyed by Russia and the Warsaw Pact allies, they all invaded the country to get rid of the reforms. In the same year, students were reforming. These reforms were against government and authority figures.

Helsinki accords were signed in 1975. This started the height of the cold war. This was a series of agreements between the USA and Russia. This focused on improving the relationship between east and west by promoting human rights, peaceful coexistence, ect.

Karol Wojtyla, a Pole, was first elected as Pope John Paul II In 1978. He became the first non-Italian pope in over 400 years. ANd in 1978 Margret Thatcher became the first female prime minister in British history.

Mikhail Gorbachev became the leader of the S.U. He showed the policies of perestroika. This wanted to change the Solviet economy for the better. Glasnost wanted opness in government. This led to the end of the cold war.

The Berlin Wall comes down and Berlin is finally one, east and west germany is no more! The Velvet Revolution Happened in Czechoslovakia - they overthrew the communists and Vaclav Havel became president instead. The S.U. took back their forces from afghanistan. This ended a 10 year long confict. This all happened in 1989.

East and West Germany are finally reunited to form Germany! This was right after the fall of The Berlin Wall and the end of the COld war. The unification process had gettting rid of communsim in east germany and gettimg the democratic system in west germany. This was a new era for germany.

The USSR is gone. The communist rule is over. Its 1991, Boris Yeltsinis now the leader of Russia - he is bringing Russia to a democratic system. In 1992 The Maastricht Treaty is signed making the formation of the EU. This treaty is laying down the groundwork for political cooporation with European countries.

The Euro Currency was introduced in 1999. It replaced currencies like pesos from spain or the French Franc. The euro is now used by 19 countries in europe. Making it one of the the worlds most widely used currency.