AP WORLD HISTORY IMPORTANT DATES

1206

Rise of Genghis Khan (Mongol Empire goes on to conquer Song China, Abbasid and Russia)

1258

Mongols sack Baghdad (end of Abbasid Caliphate)

1271 - 1295

- Marco Polo Travels; visits Yuan dynasty (inspires European exploration)

1300s

– Italian Renaissance (rebirth of Europe)

1324

- Mansa Musa’s pilgrimage to Mecca (Ruler of Mali - Muslim)

1325 - 1349

- Ibn Battuta’s Travels (travels to West African Kingdoms, Swahili city-states, Mecca –documents experience of Islamic world)

1337-1453

– Hundred Years War (fought between Britain and France, rise of nationalism, use of gunpowder in warfare – knights lose influence, feudalism declines)

1347 - 1348

\- Bubonic Plague in Europe (people move from manors to cities – feudalism declines)

Mid 1300s

– Rise of Aztec/Inca Empires (Pre-Columbian Civilizations)

1368

– Ming Dynasty (replaces Yuan)

1405 - 1433

- Zheng He’s voyages (Ming Dynasty chance to dominate is over, Western Europe will rise)

1453

- Ottomans conquer Constantinople (Byzantine Empire)

1492

- Columbus “discovers” Americas (searching for all water-route to Asia)

1498

– Vasco Da Gama reached India (opens up European trade across Indian Ocean)

1502

– Atlantic Slave Trade (highest volume of slaves during 18 th century)

1517

\- Martin Luther’s 95 Theses (start of Protestant Reformation)

1521

- Cortez conquered the Aztecs

1526

– Founding of Mughal Empire (Babur, Akbar, Aurangzeb)

1533

- Pizarro conquered the Incas

1600s

– Beginning of Japanese isolation (Tokugawa Shogunate)

1618 - 1648

- 30 Years War (religious wars- Protestant Reformation)

1643

– King Louis XIV (France – Absolute Monarchy)

1689

– Peter the Great (Westernization of Russia)

1750s

- Industrialization begins in England

1775-1783

– American Revolution (gains independence from Britain)

1789

- French Revolution begins (rise of Napoleon)

1804

- Haitian Independence (1 st Latin American country that gained independence from Europe, slave uprising)

Early 1800s

– Latin American Wars for independence (most countries gain independence by 1825)

1839 - 1860s

- Opium Wars in China (Britain forces China to open up trade to foreigners)

1848

- Communist Manifesto (the rise of Karl Marx… socialism/communism)

1853

– American Commodore Matthew Perry pressures Japan to open up to the West

1853-1856

– Crimean War (Ottomans defeat Russia with help of Britain/France; Russia will abolish serfdom/industrialize)

1861

– Russia abolishes serfs (lives of peasants won’t improve)

1857

- Sepoy Mutiny in India (British government colonized India)

1868

– Meiji Restoration (Japan will industrialize, westernize – begin colonizing surrounding lands)

1884-1885

– Berlin Conference (Scramble for Africa – European leaders divide up Africa)

1885

– Founding of the Indian National Congress (political party that will support Indian independence)

1905

- Russo-Japanese War (triggers 1905 Russian Revolution)

1910

– Japan annex Korea

1910 - 1920

- Mexican Revolution (Porfirio Diaz removed from power)

1911

- Chinese Revolution (Qing dynasty falls, Nationalists control Chinese government)

1914 - 1918

\- World War I

1917

- Russian Revolution (Lenin rises to power – Russia becomes communist and gets out of WWI)

1929

- Start of Great Depression (caused by overproduction, weakening demand, stock market crash, bank failures and high unemployment rates)

1931

- Japanese invasion of Manchuria

1937

– Japanese invade China (Nationalist and communist in China join forces to fight Japanese)

1939

- German invasion of Poland (start of WWII)

1945

- End of WWII

1947

– India gained independence from Britain (Partition of India… India – Hindus; Pakistan – Muslims)

1947-1991

– Cold War (United States – democracy vs Soviet Union – communism)

1948

- Creation of state of Israel (orchestrated by the United Nations

1949

- Mao Zedong comes to power in China (China becomes communism after a civil war with Nationalist)

1950 - 1953

- Korean War

1959

- Cuban Revolution (rise of Fidel Castro)

1962

- Cuban Missile Crisis (caused by Bay of Pigs – failed attempt by USA to remove Castro)

1967

- Chinese Cultural Revolution (Mao tries to revive communism in China)

1979

- Iranian Revolution (rise of Ayatollah Khomeini – Iran becomes Islamic state)

1984

– Meiners is born

1989

- Fall of Berlin Wall (West and East Germany reunited

1991

- Fall of USSR

2001

- 9/11 Terror Attacks on US