AP EURO 20 YEARS THAT SHOOK THE WORLD

Unit 1: Renaissance and Exploration (c. 1450–1648)
1450 – Invention of the Printing Press

Johannes Gutenberg’s press revolutionized communication, making books cheaper and ideas more accessible. This set the stage for religious reform, scientific exchange, and the spread of humanist thought.

Unit 1: Renaissance and Exploration (c. 1450–1648)
1492 – Columbus Reaches the Americas

Christopher Columbus’s first voyage opened sustained transatlantic contact, reshaping global trade, colonization, and cultural exchange. In the same year, the Spanish Reconquista concluded consolidated Spain as a powerful centralized state and enabling overseas expansion.This event marked the beginning of European exploration of the Americas and a significant shift in global dynamics.

Unit 2: Age of Reformation (1517–1648)

1517 – Martin Luther’s 95 Theses and the Rise of Transatlantic Slave Trade

Luther’s protest against indulgences sparked the Protestant Reformation, reshaping religion and politics in Europe. In the same era, the transatlantic slave trade expanded rapidly, tying Europe’s prosperity to colonization and forced labor.

Unit 2: Age of Reformation (1517–1648)
1572 – St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre

Religious violence reached new extremes in France, symbolizing the deep social and political conflicts unleashed by the Reformation.

Unit 2: Age of Reformation (1517–1648)
1648 – Peace of Westphalia

Ended the Thirty Years’ War, ushering in a new balance of power and a framework for state sovereignty that shaped modern diplomacy.

Unit 3: Absolutism and Constitutionalism (1648–1815)
1682 – Louis XIV Moves Court to Versailles

Louis centralized power at Versailles, exemplifying absolutist monarchy and state control over nobility.

Unit 3: Absolutism and Constitutionalism (1648–1815)
1688 – The Glorious Revolution in England

Established constitutional monarchy and parliamentary sovereignty in Britain, offering a model of limited government that contrasted with continental absolutism.

Unit 4: Scientific, Philosophical, and Political Developments (1648–1815)
1748 – Montesquieu’s Spirit of the Laws

A landmark Enlightenment text advocating separation of powers and constitutional governance, profoundly influencing political thought across Europe and beyond.

Unit 4: Scientific, Philosophical, and Political Developments (1648–1815)
1760s – Beginning of the Industrial Revolution

Britain’s mechanization of textile production marked the birth of industrialization, fueled by earlier scientific advances and reshaping economies, societies, and environments.

Unit 5: Conflict, Crisis, and Reaction (1789–1815)

1789 – French Revolution

The storming of the Bastille signaled the collapse of absolutism and the rise of revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity, which reverberated across Europe.

Unit 5: Conflict, Crisis, and Reaction (1789–1815)
1815 – Congress of Vienna and the Defeat of Napoleon

European leaders redrew borders after Napoleon’s defeat, seeking to restore balance of power and suppress revolutionary movements.

Unit 6: Industrialization and Its Effects (1815–1914)
1848 – Revolutions of 1848 & Communist Manifesto

Widespread revolutions reflected demands for liberal reforms, nationalism, and social change. Marx and Engels’ Communist Manifesto crystallized socialist critiques of capitalism.

Unit 7: 19th-Century Perspectives and Political Developments (1815–1914)
1871 – German Unification

Otto von Bismarck’s leadership unified Germany, shifting the European balance of power and fueling nationalism.

Unit 7: 19th-Century Perspectives and Political Developments (1815–1914)
1884–1885 – Berlin Conference

European powers partitioned Africa, accelerating imperialism and reflecting global competition for resources and markets.

Unit 8: 20th-Century Global Conflicts (1914–1989)
1914–1918 – World War I

The Great War shattered old empires, spread mass death, and redrew borders. It also set the stage for the Russian Revolution and unresolved tensions leading to WWII.

Unit 8: 20th-Century Global Conflicts (1914–1989)
1939–1945 – World War II

The deadliest conflict in human history, WWII reshaped borders, destroyed fascism, and set the stage for the Cold War and European Integration.

Unit 9: Cold War and Contemporary Europe (1945-Present)
1956 – The Suez Crisis and the Hungarian Uprising

Twin crises exposed both the fragility of Soviet control in Eastern Europe and the decline of old European imperial powers.

Unit 9: Cold War and Contemporary Europe (1945-Present)
1989 – Fall of the Berlin Wall

Symbolized the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, ending the Cold War order and opening the way for European unification.

Unit 9: Cold War and Contemporary Europe (1945-Present)
1992 – Maastricht Treaty and the Siege of Sarajevo

The Maastricht Treaty deepened European integration through the EU, even as the Yugoslav Wars demonstrated the persistence of ethnic conflict and violence in Europe.